The Tide of Fate: Genesis
by Tidus
Summary: The destinies have gathered. The tide has risen. War is coming. And Chaos is coming back...AFter 5 Months, I'm back. This is book 1 of the rewritten version of Final Fantasy: Destiny of Fate. It's now a trilogy . First book is called Genesis
1. Prelude: The Universal Drag War

**Prelude: The Universal Drag War**

It was a Sunday afternoon on September eleventh in the year 2050. In days earlier, the people of Earth established first contact with an alien specie calling themselves 'Starlinean.' After days of planning and of preparation, it was agreed that the vice president of a nation called the United States would be the ambassador of Earth.

Since the unique specie did not want to talk on the planet, it was then decided that the introduction would take place on the International Space Station, completed years ago.

Dressed in a black suit, blank slacks, and black tie with a white-collar shirt underneath, two humans walked down the corridor of the space station.

"This gravity machine is working well. Remind me to award the person who invented this." The man with a partially bald, gray head said as he turned to the person walking next to him.

"Yes Mr. Vice President. Are you nervous sir?" The clean-shaven, blonde hair, blue-eye helper asked as he jotted down some lines on his small notebook.

"Let's see, I'm about to be the first human to talk to an alien race. Today will be remembered as the day when Earthling established the contingency that we are not alone in the universe. No, I'm not nervous." The Vice President replied sarcastically.

"You'll do fine sir. I was told that the alien has a translator that learned our language."

"Can't say I'm not impressed. They've been here for only seven days and they've learned over seven languages. How do we know for sure it'll translate what I'm saying?"

The two walked to the end of the corridor and turned left to continue walking down. Outside the window was a beautiful view of blue Earth with the many satellites that were broadcasting the meeting.

"We'll just have to take it on good faith sir." The aide answered.

"Great. Just don't make me look like a fool in front of eight billion people." The bald-headed man said as he adjusted his shirt and tie.

"You'll do fine sir." The assistant said before turning the knob and opening the door.

As the two gentlemen walked in, the two aliens stood up and nodded their greeting. Both of them were the same size as the two men. The taller one was approximately seventy inches in height while the shorter one was sixty-five. Both had a slim green body with five long, reaching fingers. Their head was that of around the same size as the Earthlings with the exception of ears and hairs. Their eyes were large and round with a dark blue crystal encased behind it while their nose were the same size as that of the rest of the world. The same goes for their mouth and teeth.

"Kinda…short aren't they?" The Vice President said aside to his subordinate.

"Don't believe everything you've seen in Hollywood sir." He whispered back.

After everyone was settled, the extra terrestrials took the first step and began speaking. In a garbled voice, the taller one said to the smaller one and smiled at the two Earthlings.

"My…ambassador," the shorter one said in clear and perfect English, "says hi and well met."

All around the world, citizens sat inside their homes as they watched the very first encounter with another race in the galaxy. Some were huddled within their blankets at night, while others stood with sweat falling from their forehead as they drank cold water.

The images were projected onto every network. On that day, everything in the world that had a monitor was showing the encounter. Throughout the weeks before, there were heretics who called the arrival of the aliens as the end of the world, while others believed it was the beginning of another golden age. None knew of what was in store for the star-crossed relationship between the two kinds.

The Vice President gave his broad smile and put out his hand, "Tell him I would like to say welcome on behalf of the people of Earth, and that this is a handshake that will signal our everlasting friendship."

After a quick translation, the alien ambassador also reached out his hand and shook that of the human. The diplomat to Earth grinned widely and placed his left hand on top of the Starlinean envoy's hand, and it took copied the procedure.

Cheers erupted throughout the entire planet as citizens celebrated in their first peaceful encounter with another kind in the universe. Yet, the celebration was a bit too early.

Only a split second later, through live television, the room inside the space station exploded into amber red as raging fire consumed everything that was in it. After the initial blast, the entire place blew up into a ball of flames that lit up the night's sky. As quick as it began, the vacuum of space sucked the inferno's life away.

The seven billion plus people on Earth did not know what to do. The shock was too horrible for them to comprehend. At first, they all believed that it was a stunt. In fact, they lied to themselves of what they saw on their screen was not the truth. The entire planet could not cope as to what had happened. And it wasn't until the message of the Starlinean declaring war on Earth did they realized what had occurred.

And so, on that day, the intergalactic war soon to be called the Universal Drag War began. The alien race struck first by exploding an imploding missile on the state of Texas through their spaceship, obliterating every life form that was in it.

Immediately after the destruction of the lone star republic, the United Nations tried to establish contact with the aliens again in order to explain that the explosion of the space station was an accident. But, it was too late. All communicational channels were closed, and the people of Earth, especially people who called themselves Americas were on the blood of vengeance.

In the first week of the war, Earth suffered tremendous casualties. With over five hundred million people dead, and over five nations totally annihilated, it seemed as though the destruction of mankind was inevitable. Yet, somewhere in the deep dark of space, a cry for help was answered.

Coming just in time to spare the blue planet from destruction was another technologically advanced alien race called the Apostlen. The extraterrestrial were intergalactic merchants that operated across the galaxy. They had decided to help out the humans because the Starlinean had cheated them on an earlier deal and saw the vast wealth that planet Earth had to offer.

Seeking revenge, the Apostlen sold various materials to the newly created United Sphere of Nations that was created in order to combat a new, common foe. The United Sphere of Nations, or the USN, took precedence over all form of government on Earth and effectively replaced the United Nations. Here, all of the countries on the planet were represented with the five most powerful being at the top, the United States, Great Britain, Russia, China, and Japan.

The Alliance was made, and the counter strike was set to take place. Asking only a portion of the war's spoil in return, the Apostlen even went as far as lending building machines for quick manufacture of destructive weapons.

In under a month, with over two billion people dead to the weaponry of the Starlinean, Earth launched its first fighter-based spaceship. Called the 'Savior,' this vessel took on the heavy bombardment of over a quarter of the hostile alien's space fleet. After winning five small battles, it was finally destroyed in a major engagement with five other unfriendly ships.

Even with its destruction, it still accomplished its mission. It bought enough time for the conversion of every factory on Earth into planetary construction places. In the three weeks that it bought for humankind, five other variation of the same battleship entered Earth's atmosphere and began defending the blue planet.

After the initial year of battle, with over three and a half billion people dead, mother Earth was now ready for the offensive. Thanks to the help of four other extraterrestrial allies, the humans were able to find the home planet of the Starlinean.

For the next two hundred years, a stalemate took over the space battlefield. Every time it seemed as though one side was winning, the other made an impossible comeback and put the table back at even. It went on for over two centuries, and during that time, both Earthlings and Starlinean called in allies in order to help pay for their war.

After generations of fighting, the conflict became dreary upon both the citizens of Earth and of Starline, the hostile alien's home planet. Soon, the fighters forgot about what they were fighting for, other than staying alive for just one more day.

Yet, in that time, humankind took a tremendous leap. They had colonized Mars and the Earth's moon, as well as two other planets in other systems. Driving cars were obsolete and airplanes were replaced with flying cars that were able to go at an average speed of three hundred miles per hour.

New cities were rebuilt on top of the destroyed one, and unlike its predecessor, these one climbed into the sky. In a wave of new-era technology, metropolises rose to the height of a mile into the air. Houses and commercial took residence in this light environment while industrial based housings were gathered at the base of the metropolitan.

Advances in machinery allowed the creation of mini-computer chips to be installed into the brain of a newborn child, as well as the elimination of every genetic disease known to mankind. An _intranet_ of communication and transportation was developed, thus bringing every connected body into communicational ability with every other linked one.

Finally, in the year 2250, on the Earth day of December 25, there was a call for peace. The now powerful USN took the chance and called for harmony. On that day, both the President of the USN and the leader of the Starlinean Homeland internal Protection, or SHIP, signed a peace treaty.

In that agreement, there was a unanimous call for peace. Both sides agreed that they were both at fault in the hostilities, and that the cause of the confrontation was labeled as a 'misunderstanding.' Reparation were paid both to torture soldiers of Earth and of Starline, and in front of over a hundred alien species that were 'dragged' into the warfare and of the countless number of life forms across the universe, the two-hundred years war had ended.

In light of the new celebration of a new era, the multitudes of inter-space organizations created a new form of entertainment. Borrowing elements from an old Earthling tradition called 'gladiator,' this new sport was used as a way to symbolize the strongest nation without ever going to combat again. In a four-on-four fighting, the winner would be the last one standing, and the rounds would dissipate as the winner would keep on advancing until there were only two left standing in the arena.

These two would battle it out until there was a clear and definite winner. Whatever the race of the winner was, it would be the champion's home planet that would benefit the most. Prices ranged from a high caliber indestructible sword to at least one house on every identifiable and hospitable planet. Thus, the newly created sport was called Quadra Battle.

The projection screen closed away, and the once darkened room was enveloped in the balcony light. The professor touched a button on his desk, and turned to the class to check if anyone had fallen asleep. The windows were automatically opened, and the bright rays of the sun danced into the classroom.

Somewhere, in the back of the room a boy shouted out, "Hey TeeJay, isn't your championship battle today?"

A brown hair human male of approximately seventeen in age lifted his head off his chair and wiped away the saliva that was on his chin. His left eye was uniquely green while his right one was astonishingly blue.

'Good,' he thought, 'I had enough of history.' Ignoring his teacher's order, he picked up his backpack, rushed out of the room, and into the world.


	2. The Quadra Tourneyment

**Chapter 1: The Quadra-Tournament**

It was a dark place. There were few spots of despondent light, but they were just there in order to tell the guest where the exit was in case of an emergency. Distant echoes of voiced opinion could be heard, but they were nothing more than talks. The arena was being cleaned, and the fans were starting to grumble at its length.

In the dense darkness, on the far side of the stadium was a motionless figure. Behind him were isolated cries of support from his followers. There was a sign that had a heart and the name TeeJay behind it.

He stood silently without moving. He knew he had to save his energy for the upcoming final duel. As he rested his body, he could feel his legs buckling beneath him. His hands were shaking violently. Trying to control his nervousness, he began to think of things other than Quadra.

'This is taking too long. Stupid Araxcella. Should have just eaten the guy instead of dissembling his body. I'm talking to myself again. This is sad. Come on, I want to get this over with. I hate waiting. The more we wait, the more rested they will be. Why am I so nervous, I've done this before. Stupid TeeJay, stop tormenting yourself. There are three of them, but the only one I have to worry about is that Quarnak. Let's see, the Araxcella is to my right, the Quarnak is in front of me, and the Indilao is to my left. I wonder where we'll fight…' he thought.

Somewhere out of the darkness ranged a high, pitching sound, "FIGHTERS, READY!"

'This is it. Father, I will avenge your death. That Quarnak will die…'

He lowered his hands onto the ramp and held tightly. His heartbeat began to pulsate faster and faster while his lower half trembled at the unexpected fear. Even though the stadium was kept at a cool temperature constantly, he could feel his body heating up. Sweat dripped his forehead and onto his eyebrows as he stood patiently.

Suddenly, the darkness evaporated into thin nothingness as extreme distortion of lights pierced from the ceiling and onto the ground itself. The four corners of the arena lid up in white light as the four opponents looked at one another.

Hundred of thousand of screams and jeers traversed from the upper seating onto the lower half where the contenders stood waiting. The rectangular shape of the stadium allowed the sound to travel from one end to the other without disturbance.

"Go!" Shouted a voice from the heaven. The four fighters immediately jumped from the four ramps into the arena.

As TeeJay felled through a green barrier, his eyesight collapsed on him and darkness reigned supreme again. It was all the same, he thought. After a while, he opened his eyes and instead of seeing thousands of spectators around him, all he could see were giant trees and bushes dominating the landscape.

Looking up, he did not see the bright shining lights, but instead he saw the clear blue sky with small patches of clouds that were few and far in between. Surrounding him were dense trees that stood towering into the sky. Below the trees were strategically placed shrubs and fallen branches.

'So, we're placed in a forest,' he thought as he reached into an empty space next to him and pulled out a silver sword made of the finest steel on Earth. His five senses on high alert, he began to walk through the forest with his muscles tensed for battle.

After a while of walking, he heard a mistake. Even though it was a low sound of a broken twig, he knew whoever had made it was regretting the deadly error. He made a quick decision and began to climb the stained-brown tree next to him.

When he had reached a place that he thought was a good hiding place, he stopped and slowly peered through a small opening in the leaves.

Below him was the Araxcella, a race on the far corner of the galaxy with four legs and two tremendous claws that resembled that of a scorpion. Instead of a poisonous tail, it had a poisonous breath that could cause its opponent to fall unconscious due to the smell. It was over ten feet long and seven feet high.

It had three eyes and a mouth that had two layers of bone-crunching teeth. Its face was shaped in an obtuse manner, and without any nose or ears, many considered it one of nature's mistakes.

Yet, what it lacked in beauty was made up in brute strength. One of the strongest creation in the universe, it had the power to tear an intra-shuttle in half with its two claws. Rumored by many, there were stories of its bloodshed past in which it conquered nation after nation only using its devastating breath. But, its race had long since settled for political negotiation instead of force cooperation.

TeeJay knelt patiently and waited. He knew that the Quarnak and the Indilao was still out there, but he did not know where. He considered attacking, but realized it would open into a three-front battle since none of the three final contestants liked the human race. In a turn of event, the Araxcella sharply snapped its head straight ahead as the Indilao jumped out from the bush.

The Indilao was another entity that had a dark past in its history book. One of its more sickened features was that it was made up of parts taken from those it had won against. In a previous duel, it lost an arm in the match, but after it had won, it ripped the arm off its opponent and attached to its own.

Its unique microorganism was able to adapt the arm's technique and flexibility, and after a day of hospitalization, it made a full recovery and had full use of the arm.

When the two aliens saw one another, they dashed forward and began their duel. High in the trees above, TeeJay knelt patiently as he watched the two enemies battling it out.

'If they're here, then the Quarnak must be near…but where, where can it be…'

Scanning his surrounding, he could only see the impenetrable forest, and the only sound he could hear was the battle that was taking place below him. Suddenly, at the back of his mind, he began hearing chants for him to shoot.

'So, I guess the crowds are getting bored. If I shoot, I will reveal my location, but then, even if I do, it'll be a one-on-one match between the Quarnak and me. I have to take this chance. Terra, activate the archer launcher.'

The sword on his hand instantly disappeared and taking its place was a long, steel bow that was over three feet in length. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out two arrows and locked into its place and took aim.

Both of the fighters below him had skins that were thicker and more indestructible than titanium. Yet, everything had a weak spot and he knew that if he could destroy their eyesight, then they would be eliminated from the competition without making any noise.

He steadily raised the bow and took aim. After finalizing the distance and the effect of gravity, he let loose and the arrows zoomed through the air. Seconds later, the Indilao and the Araxcella were down the ground and disappeared. The silence of the wood had returned again.

As he was about to smile at his creativity, he felt an intense throbbing on his left shoulder and fell onto the grass-covered ground. He looked over and saw a three-centimeter arrow protruding from his body. A hardened laugh from behind caused him to roll over to see the seven feet Quarnak towering over him.

"Urisa Onrie Alnd Eins Arun…" it spoke in a foreign tongue.

'Terra, translate!" He said quickly in his mind as he pulled away the arrow in his shoulder.

"…human. You think you are smart by cutting away the competition, but you only made my job that much easier."

The Quarnak, one of the most violent being in the entire galaxy, was considered a modern giant. Its average height was at least seven feet tall, although the tallest was recorded at an astonishing twelve feet. Its skin was over two-inch thick, allowing it to endure pain far longer than the other competitor.

It stood on two massive legs and was graced with two giant arms that could crush a human head easily with one swift move.

"You came for vengeance, but, like father, like son. I guess it is just in the family's blood to die by my hand. Did you know what he said before I crushed his puny head? He said that his son would be my bane. Perhaps someone should have told him that he wasn't a fortuneteller. Human…you are so weak. We should have conquered you a long time ago if it wasn't for the blasted protection treaty."

"You know," TeeJay interrupted the enraged alien, "You shouldn't talk too much." As soon as he finished his sentence, he jumped onto his two legs and kicked the Quarnak right in its abdomen, sending it stumbling backward.

As he pulled out his blade from the air, the grass beneath his feet disappeared along with the entire forest. A white light exploded again, causing him to close his eyes. When it died down, he opened it again and saw the bright blue atmosphere.

The trees were replaced with endless stretch of pristine, blue water. Looking down, he saw that he was standing on top of an ocean.

When he looked up, all he could see were the Quarnak's shoulders as he collapsed backward with the alien on top of him. As it raised one of its powerful hands to slam down at its enemy's face, the human pushed his body through the water and sank deep into the ocean. Before the water droplet that sprang into the air from the attack had reached its highest height, the extraterrestrial had jumped into the sea.

With his sword next to him, he slowly pedaled his feet in order to keep from sinking any further. As his opponent swam forward, he too followed suit and the two met in the middle.

After avoiding the initial attack to his stomach, TeeJay swung his blade and connected on its side, but nothing happened. Instead, it gave a wide smile and connected its fist directly into its foe's face, clouding the clear water with reddish blood.

Stumbling back in the water, the human quickly snapped his nose back into place and swam right into the arms of his challenger. He quickly raised his weapon to deflect an attack from the Quarnak.

After a successful defense, he countered by thrusting with all of his might into the creature's stomach. Pushing forward with all his might, he used his agility to duck an overhead kick from the alien and continued to advance the blade further.

When he heard his opponent's torture scream and saw the water surrounding it was dense with blood, he knew he had pushed through the skin. With a quick kick to the wound, he sent his enemy back into the water but was pushed back himself by the animal's immense weight.

Snarling its black tongue, it swam upward and jumped out of the water. The human closely followed behind and jumped above the water. The giant brute was on its knee as it coughed up the blood. Wet with water, it looked forward with eyes of hatred at the battered human teenager that had managed to injure it.

"Thought you were invisible, huh? Don't worry, I'd studied you. I know your weakness. It isn't your skin, nor is it your body. It's your ego. It's too big for your pea size brain."

The Quarnak roared its disdain and began to shake its entire body. All of the sudden, one of its arm changed into a long blade with blackened edges.

'…A shape shifter. So…that's its secret.' TeeJay thought to himself.

It immediately pushed itself off the ground and sprinted forward at the human teenager. Locked in an intertwining duel, the two constantly switch side from the attacker to the defender. As the two danced above the ocean, water sprung up all around them while the bright burning sun cast down the extreme heat of the world.

With a quick motion, he deflected an overhead slash from the creature and kicked at its stomach. But instead of the animal reeling back in pain, it was him who stumbled backward and tried to nurture his foot.

Laughing wildly, the Quarnak vibrated its head again and just like before, its other hand transformed into a long blade. As soon as its shape shifting had completed, it dashed forward and assaulted its unprepared foe.

When the human tried to counter, it brought its arm together and locked its challenger's sword directly in the middle. Grinning, it exploded its leg right into the human's belly, sending him flying into the air and splashing at the other end.

Scrambling to get up, TeeJay shook away his dizziness to see the enraged Quarnak running directly at him. Swiftly turning sideway, he crawled toward his last line of defense that was lying only a few feet away from him. As he continued to creep toward his sword, he could hear the stampeding feet of the approaching alien.

When he felt the hilt of the sword in his palm, his enemy was already standing over. With a jolting cry, he sliced his weapon away just as the Quarnak was bringing down its twin arms.

Jumping out of bed, the human teenager quickly blinked his eyes and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. After realizing that it was just a dream, he fell onto his back and landed on the soft cushion of his bed.

"What time is it?" He grumbled as he wiped his hand through his hair.

Even though there was no one around, he could hear a female voice within his head, "Today is Monday the seventeenth, in the year twenty-three sixteen. Good morning TeeJay."


	3. A Technological City

**Chapter 2: A City of Technology**

It was a quiet atmosphere. Small patches of light from the outside crept through the slightly open window blind. He rolled left and right on his bed, tossing pillows and blanket around, trying to go back to sleep. With barely opened eyes, TeeJay rolled off his bed and fell onto the soft carpeted-ground.

"Ouch…" he said out loud in the empty room.

After a while, he managed to gather enough strength and pushed himself off the ground and began walking toward the bathroom in the manner of a drunken person. After a long stretch and an ear-hurting yawn, he opened his eyes brightly and stared into the mirror that looked back at him.

"Terra…open the shades. It's too dark in here," he said out loud as he scratched the different parts of his body.

"I'm sorry TeeJay, but the shades are independent of my control," a female voice spoke within his head.

He groaned his frustration, and began walking into the shower when he slipped on the wet floor in the darkness and fell on his butt.

"Ouch, dammit, Terra, can you at least turn on the light?" He complained with a painful face as he pushed open the shower stall and walked in.

"My apology," replied a voice

A bright light came from above and as fast as he entered the stall, he exited with his body and hair washed and ready for the morning. Reaching down into one of the drawer, he pulled out a small capsule and began chewing on it. A few seconds later, he opened his mouth and breathed a wonderfully scented breath into the air.

"Ah," he smiled, "no brushing, no nothing. Gotta love these pills,"

"Remember TeeJay, today is your first day of school at the academy. Your mom told me to tell you to try and not be too radical,"

"Radical? Ah, what does my mom know? Now, anyway, just do my hair the same style I guess. But…how bout this time, give me some baby blue highlights," he narrowed his eyes as he looked into the mirror.

"I do not think that would look good with your brown hair,"

"Since when do you know anything about style?"

"Since the time you downloaded the style program into my mainframe. It was a few weeks ago," she replied casually.

"Oh…" he hesitated for a few moment, "then what about blonde?"

A circular-shape machine dropped from the ceiling and encased his head. After a quick burst of light, it rose back to where it came from.

"Ah, I like it. Now, what to wear?" He said while raising his hand to his eyes.

After he had swiped his hand across his eyes, a projected screen appeared within them and showed the different clothing he had.

"Hmm…no…I don't like any of these," he commented. After a quick blink, different styles of clothing appeared again as projection upon his eyes.

"I guess…I'll go with this style," he nodded. A part of the ceiling fell again and this time it had a pair of blue pant, a white inner shirt, and a red outer shirt.

As soon as he had finished putting on his cloth, he walked to the shades and pulled them apart to see a dove perching outside. The windows automatically opened and he stuck his head outside and breathed in a breath of fresh air while scaring the bird away.

The white bird flew off the stand and into the sky where an air-car zoomed by with the driver screaming curses at the innocent dove. It continued its flight through layers and layers of traffic. Flying cars flew left and right without coming to at least an inch of one another. Some flew up while others dove down into the area below.

The sun cast cheerful yellow rays down at the sprawling metropolis. Without a hint of clouds in the sky, the pedestrian went on with their daily lives as if it was any other day. Buildings rose high into the sky while air-cars and airbuses passed between them, through them, and above them.

Elevated sidewalks called skywalks traced throughout the entire city. With a level at every one hundred feet, these technological sidewalks offered transportation to the inhabitants of the city that either couldn't afford the cars or chose to walk. Humans and aliens walked passed one another without confrontation and there were some that strolled with one another.

These walkways went to everyplace that had an entrance. Children ran down these illuminated steps after leaving in the air-mall while their parents chased after them. Stores with exotics wares were numerous throughout the entire downtown district.

As the city spread outward, the height of the skywalks and buildings began to be less and less until they were at ground level, although these places were rare and few between, often only available to the rich of the rich.

The dove continued its flight until it found a spot atop a building that was several hundred feet above the city. A great sound from above caused it to look upward. There, a giant white shuttle dropped down from the sky and landed at a nearby airport where hundreds more were already beginning their takeoffs. Then, all of the sudden, appearing out of nowhere were thundering clouds. Soon, the entire city was carpeted in white snow.

"Dammit," TeeJay cussed as he looked outside his closed window, "I hate snow,"

Walking away from the window, he rushed down the flight of steps and entered the kitchen where he was greeted with a beautiful smile from his mom.

"How was your sleep capo?" She said for a quick second and then returned to her holographic computer.

"Mom…can you stop calling me that? I'm not a boy anymore you know?"

After a quick laughed, she remarked, "If you're not a boy, then what are you?"

"Well, an adult," he replied

"Then, if you're an adult," she grinned, "You can finish this plan for further colonization of Hilaris,"

"Sorry mom," he said with a smirk, "I got school,"

Before she could counter, he rushed out the door after grabbing a cookie. Shaking her head with a smile, she returned to her computer when she heard the door opening slightly and a familiar voice,

"Mom…can I borrow the car?"

"Get out of here!" She laughed as she threw a plastic ball at the door.

He walked down the steps and took a moment to look around him. The suspended sidewalk was free of snow and provided warmth to the walking civilians. Houses were all around him while air-cars flew in front of him. Early morning traffics were visible and audible as honks and shouts were heard from every direction.

He looked up and saw the snow forming at the top of the spiracle walkway. An invisible barrier that protected the sidewalk from cars also shielded it from the acts of god.

'Thank god that this city have sidewalks with indoor heater,' he thought as he began to stroll down the street.

Although it was early in the morning, the multitudes of sidewalks throughout the city were filled with humans and aliens alike walking on with their business. As TeeJay made his way down the corridor, he had a hard time avoiding the traffic that was going against him, having to dodge from humongous and often obnoxious alien that made no attempt of getting of out the way.

Suddenly, he heard a loud siren from behind. Turning around, he saw a polica car chasing another car through the air. Soon, more joined in as he watched with curious eyes. After what seemed to be a warning from the cops, the air-car being chases seemed to sputter in the air and abruptly began to spiral toward TeeJay's location.

He only stood there and watched with his hand enclosed on his crystal necklace. The air-car came crashing down and when it was only meters away from his head, it bounced off an invisible barrier and came to an exploding end.

"Idiots…" he mumbled beneath his breath, "why run when in the end you'll either die or get caught…"

Those that stopped to watch the chase continued on with their lives as if nothing had happened at all. TeeJay walked on with his hands in his pocket. On both sides were vibrant banners and boards advertising the latest styles and gadgets. Finally, he came to a place with a sign that said 'air-bus' and stopped. Seconds later, a speeding bus came and stopped. There, it launched out two small arms that first opened the invisible barrier and unfolded into a walkway.

Being the last to arrive, he was the last to get on. He took out a card and swiped it across the panel and began walking toward the back of the bus. As he casually moved forward, he looked left and right to see who he would travel with for the rest of the year. There were human businessmen, alien mothers, and other children of the universe. After finding an empty seat, he sat down while the bus withdrew its arms and sped forward.

He sat there by himself with his face looking out the window at the falling snow. After two more stops, the bus rose higher into the air and entered a suspended highway above the city, the airway. It was a comfortable ride. There were no bumps, no vibration. As soon as he laid his head on the back of the seat, an alien from the seat in front of him turned around and began staring at the human.

"Can I help you?" He said as he eyed the one eyeing him.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" The three eye, four arms, and pink thin body alien said. It was called a Rsara

"No, sorry. I've never met you."

"No…I think I do. What's your name?"

"Why does it matter?" He replied with curiosity

"Wait a minute…you're him aren't you? Yeah, now I know where you're from. You're that human in the Quadra-Tournament. The one who won the final? Can I get your autograph?"

With a smile, he gave a slight nod and said in his head, "Terra, send this person an autograph." When she responded that it was sent, he said out loud, "okay, you should have it,"

The three-eye alien turned around, pressed a digitized computer in front of it, and out from the side came a print picture of the official Quadra-Tournament poster with TeeJay's signature on it.

"Thank you so much," it said with a broad smile as it tried to shake his hand, "my daughter loves you. She had always wanted to meet you. And now, since you're living here, that means that she can,"

"Tell your daughter that I said thanks for her support," he said.

"Oh, don't worry. Wait till she hears about who was sitting behind me," it commented in excited voice as its three-eyes shifted back and forth, "but, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" He asked as he shifted around in his seat

"Why did you let the Quarnak survive? I mean, you had him. Why'd you let him live?"

"I don't know. There wasn't any point anyway…"

"But didn't he kill your father? I read that your whole reason for joining the Quadra league was to avenge your father's death. How come you didn't do it?"

TeeJay closed his eyes as he reflected back to that fateful day at the Quadra-tournament final.

Sparks flew as swords and steel flesh came in contact. Both human and Quarnak flew in opposite direction as the force of contact between the two sent them flying away. With sweat and blood oozing out of his body, TeeJay struggled to look beyond his dizziness. His sword in his left hand, he looked over to see that his opponent was already up and heading toward his way.

He slowly stood up and waited with heavy breath. The illusion was gone. Surrounding the two fighters were thousands and thousands of screaming fan, cheering on their favorite fighter. The entire arena was illuminated in white light. Fights broke out among the fans as arguments turned into rage. But down below, the two warriors could only see the other and no one else.

He waited patiently. As the Quarnak came screaming at him, TeeJay planted his feet firmly into the ground. When the alien tried to swipe its dagger-sharp hands across his head, he quickly ducked below, swiveled his feet to get behind the alien and swiped his sword across the legs of the alien.

As it fell over in agonizing pain, the human fighter slash upward and sliced away the Quarnak's left arm. Then, spinning clockwise, he reached up with his right arm and removed another saber from the main weapon and used it to cut away his opponent's right arm. As green blood began to ooze forward from the wounds, he again spun from left to right and this time, he combined the two rapiers back into one and began to slash at the Quarnak's neck.

Only inches away, he stopped. The crowd ceased its noise. The Quarnak was facing forward, on its knees with blood pouring from its missing arms. TeeJay was standing from behind him, sword at its head. It was a deafening silence. Both him and his enemy's breathing could be heard echoing throughout the entire stadium.

"Do it…" it grumbled as if it had accepted its fate, "avenge your father's death…"

With his eyes narrowed, the human raised it sky high and brought it crashing down upon the creature's neck when everything vanished and he found himself holding his dad's hand. They were both sitting on the bench, watching the warrior down below practicing their technique.

His father turned to him, and said, "TeeJay, people ask me how come I am so strong, and you know what I tell them? I tell that my only strength comes from my family. Your great grandfather and grandfather both died in the Drag War. I wanted to fight too, but when the war ended, I still wanted to fight, so I signed up with the Quadra league. I've killed a lot of people along the way."

The father turned toward his son, and patted him on the head, "TeeJay, I don't want you to fight. Our family's history is already filled with blood. It almost seem as though our family line is meant to fight. But, I want you to break that chain. When you grow up, don't be like me. Study, and do something productive. I am only fighting so that one day, you won't have to fight, and you won't have to take the life of another living thing."

The image vanished, and brown hair teen found his sword within inches of the alien's neck. "It's over," he said, "I don't want to fight anymore." With that said, he turned and began walking away from the creature, and out of the stadium, leaving the entire crowd, world, and galaxy dumbfounded and speechless.

"Hey! Are you okay?" The Rsara asked as it began to shake his shoulders,

"Oh, sorry, I drifted away…" he answered

"It's okay. So did you ever get the sword? I mean, they announced that you were the winner…so did they ever give you the Quadra-sword?"

"Yeah…they gave it to me…"

"Do you think I can see it?" It asked carefully as if it didn't want to offend

"Sorry…I…don't seem to have it with me…"

"That's okay then," the bus came a halting stop, "Well, this is where I get off. Nice meeting you. Haha, wait till my daughter hears about this,"

After a few more quick stops, the flying bus finally arrived at the academy on the other side of the city. He stepped out and looked up to see his new school.

It was a gigantic building with trees, grass, and fountains everywhere. With an entire block to itself, it lied at the center of two busy intersections. The main building was over a hundred feet tall and hundreds of feet wide. Coupling onto the main one were other smaller but still large buildings that held the classes and complexes. Air-cars flew over it, under it, and even to its sides. A mini-river ran from the entrance and circled throughout the complex with beautiful and often exotic fishes in them.

Other than the few custodians responsible for making the campus clean, there weren't any other living souls.

"Late again…" TeeJay shook his head with a loud sigh as he began walking forward


	4. The Academy

**Chapter 3: The Academy**

The snowstorm continued its barraged on the sprawling metropolis. But the ordinary citizens continued on with their life. The academy was not shielded from the snow like the streets were. The once green field was now enveloped in angelic white. It was a winter wonderland.

TeeJay made his way up the flight of steps and walked through the automated door. He entered a gigantic hall with doors and stairways everywhere. To his sides were long corridors with classrooms. Marbled floor graced the ground with Roman-styled wallpaper covering the walls.

In front of him was a giant fountain with small fishes swimming inside. Green vines ran from the base of the pool to all of the corners of the school. Brushing the snowflakes off his shoulder, he began walking down the left hall and followed the sign that led to the main office.

Just as he was about the round the corner, the bells began ringing and soon the doors opened as students after students flooded out. Both human and aliens studied with one another. Caught in the wave of the advancing apprentices, TeeJay tried to squeeze through but the entire passage was filled with talkative learners.

'Well, I guess I'll have to wait for passing period to be over. Terra, where's my locker at?' He said within his mind

'It's to your right,' a female voice replied back.

He walked over and pressed an unseen button. A holographic locker appeared out of nowhere and opened automatically, all the while with students passing through it as if it was made out of air.

He reached in and pulled out a history book and gave a loud sigh. He never liked history. He never cared for it. But still they forced him to take it.

Soon, the bells began ringing again. Everyone suddenly started to run to their classes. TeeJay wasn't in a hurry. After silence and emptiness had returned to the corridor, he pushed off the wall he was leaning on and continued on.

Just as he rounded the corner, he bumped into a speeding figure and fell over onto his butt.

"Excuse me," he said in a grumpy voice

"Oh, my apology. I'm so sorry," an angelic voice responded.

Blinded by the light behind the figure, he couldn't make out who it was until he stood up and saw the beauty that he was staring at.

With her brunette hair hanging beautifully from her head, she looked at him with her brown eyes, "I'm really sorry. Are you okay?" She asked in a concerning voice.

Whatever pain he had felt, it had disappeared, "Yeah, I'm fine. I've experienced worse than this. Are you in a hurry?"

"Yes, I have to get to class before my professor marks me down again,"

"Oh, then I guess I should be the one apologizing huh?" He smiled as he moved out of the way

"Thanks a lot. I'm Erin," she stuck out her hand

"I'm TeeJay," he shook it, "nice meeting you,"

"You're new here…aren't you?" She asked in a curious voice as she tilted her head to one side

"What makes you say that?" He said as he copied what she did,

After a giggle, she replied carelessly, "your eyes. I haven't seen anyone with one that's green and the other blue. Are they genetic or surgery?"

"I was born with them, so I guess genetic," he smiled as he bent over to pick up his book.

"Oh!" she looked down at her watch, "sorry, but now I'm really late. It was nice meeting you," she smiled and ran down the hall, "see you later!"

His eyes followed her curvy body until it disappeared. After shaking his dizziness away, he turned around and began walking when he suddenly bumped into another figure and immediately felt a gigantic hand around his throat.

"Who do you think you are talking to my girlfriend?" The figure asked in a gruff voice.

He looked up to see the three-eye alien. It was a Giga, an alien race on the nearest star that had skins like a lizard but with three eyes.

With a quick movement, he easily maneuvered out of the death grip and stood next to the eight feet alien. Behind the giant were his two cronies.

"Sorry, but the last time I checked she wasn't blind," TeeJay said with a wry grin.

The Giga turned around to his friends and asked them, "Did this maggot just make fun of me?"

"I think he did Spark," the two humans replied at the same time,

With a nod, it slowly turned around and spun its fist directly at TeeJay's face, who easily ducked out of the way.

"I don't think you want to mess with me," the green eye human warned his opponent.

"You think you're big and all that huh? Then come on, let's see how good you are in a Quadra-duel," it growled, baring its yellow and dirty teeth

With a big grin, the human shrugged and said, "If that's what you want…then that's what you'll get."

All four began walking down the hall. Taking a turn on the second corner, they entered a giant building with complex machinery everywhere. Straight in front of them was a board of flashing buttons and switches and beyond that was a hollow circular space.

Spark entered the spherical room first, followed by TeeJay who walked to the other side.

"Hey, activate the Quadra program," the Giga barked at his two yuppies.

Working quickly, they began pressing the buttons on the screen and soon, the circular room began whirling as lightning danced in the air. TeeJay was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as if nothing was the matter. On the other side, Spark was stretching his arms and legs.

"I'm going to enjoy beating the crap out of you boy," it said with gleaming teeth.

Somewhere in a classroom, an instant message flashed onto a boy's digital eye-computer. In it was an alert that someone was using the Quadra room without permission. He quickly nudged his friend next to him.

"Hey, someone's using the Quadra room, and I think it's Spark."

"Yeah? Who's his opponent?"

"I don't know. The computer doesn't recognize his body scan."

"That means that he's a new student. Come on, I wanna see this."

Both students sneaked out of their room, and soon many more followed as they hurried toward the battling arena. Looking down, they could see the yellow globe and the two students that stood inside of it.

"There's Spark," pointed a girl, "but who's the other person?"

"I don't know," answered another boy, "but I got my money on Spark. Anybody want to bet me?"

The other students knew better. Spark was the best Quadra fighter at their academy.

"All right Spark, everything is set. What environment do you want to fight in?" The assistant shouted.

"I don't care," he barked back, "Why don't we let my soon to be beaten friend decide?"

"It doesn't matter. It'll end before it begins, so I don't care," TeeJay shrugged his shoulder slightly.

"That new kid is confident," said one of the spectators.

"Wait, hey, do any of you guys recognize him? Because I think I've seen him somewhere before," said another voice.

All of the students stuck their face toward the glass, "no, I don't think so."

"Spark?" The assistant shouted again.

"I don't care, just pick random," the Giga screamed at his yuppies.

Sticking out his hand, a pristine sword materialized on his hand. With a grin, he said, "So, what are you going to use?"

Sighing, TeeJay pushed off the glass wall and cracked his neck. Raising his hand to his necklace, he pulled out of nowhere a blue sword with two small wings on the scabbard. Just then, a white light immersed the entire sphere, and the two fighters closed their eyes. When they opened them again, they were standing in the middle of a grassland.

"Is…that?" Spark stumbled in his speech as he pointed at the blue Quadra-sword.

"Ready?" TeeJay grinned slyly.

Before the Giga was able to react, the green and blue-eyed human dashed straight for it and began his attack. Slashing left and right, quicker than the alien could block, TeeJay began to play with his opponent. In less than a minute, he jumped back and his Quadra-sword vanished into nothing.

"You lost," he said in a bored tone.

Spark didn't even move an inch. His sword fell down in two, and his entire clothing was cut into small little pieces as he stood naked in the grassland. He could only stand there with his hands shaking wildly. Salty sweat fell from his eyebrows and onto his rough face.

"Did you see that?!" One of the watching student said in an astonish voice, "Did you see how fast that kid moved? He just defeated Spark in less than a minute."

"That's impossible. He must have cheated," said another student as they watched the humiliation of Spark on the monitor.

Down below in the control room, a figure walked through the door and placed his hand on the two assistants, "end the simulation," he said.

They complied quickly without any questions asked. A white light flashed before the fighters' eyes and soon they were back to the yellow spherical room. A voice spoke over the intercom, "Spark, go back to your class, and so will every student in the upper room. TeeJay, come with me."

With a wave goodbye, the human left the room and followed after the dean of the academy. Up in the viewing area, the students had lost all respect for Spark as they walked back to their classroom. Along the way, they murmured to each other at the arrival of their newest student, the winner of the Quadra-tournament.


	5. A History Lesson

**Chapter 4: A Historic Lesson**

The snowflakes slowly fell from the heaven outside the school. Citizens continued on with their daily lives. Time moved on slowly.

TeeJay calmly walked into the dean's office and stood behind a soft cushion chair with his hands on the backrest. His eyes traveled around the room as he looked at the multitudes of pictures and degrees hanging around. Suddenly, a portrait caught his eyes as he walked over to pick it up.

"Quite a first day for you, isn't it?" The dean's voice said as he closed the door behind him.

"So, you knew my father?" He asked as he turned around and showed the photograph to the director of the academy.

"Yes," the elder man with gray hair smiled as he looked at the photo, "your father and I go way back. We were born in the same hospital, and were raised in the same neighborhood. We were best friends…inseparable…that is…until we graduated from learning school."

"What happened?" TeeJay asked with a curious voice.

He walked behind his desk and sat on his chair and motioned the young student to sit down. "Well, when we were young, we'd always wanted to be Quadra fighters. But as we grew older, we started having different opinions. After we graduated, he wanted to go train while I, on the other hand, decided to try out other jobs that didn't risked my life every time I go to work."

"I see…" the Quadra-fighter's voice trailed off as he tried to search his memories of his father.

A woman knocked on the door and opened it. Peering her head in, she said, "Dean Cain, the representatives are here."

"Tell them I'll be right out soon," he said as the door closed tightly.

"Why did you want me to come here? I'm already late for class…" TeeJay said as he looked at the director straight in the eye.

"Haha," Dean Cain laughed with a wide grin, "you're just like him."

"Did you just bring me here to tell me this?" The young student asked rudely as the lights bounced off his blue and green eyes.

"No, I brought you in here to warn you. You are only here because your mother only wanted what is best for you."

"And what is best for me?"

"TeeJay…do you really think you can go on and fight forever? Every four years, you risk your life, and for what? Fame? Money? There are other jobs that doesn't require your life to be in danger,"

"Death is inevitable, so why worry about it when you're living? If I don't die in the arena, then I'll die sooner or later. At least if I'm fighting, I know I'm doing something I'm good at."

"You have already proven yourself," Dean Cain raised his voice as he jumped from his chair, "you've won the Quadra Tournament. Your mom moved you guys here because she doesn't want you to fight anymore. She already lost a husband to the sport. Do you think she can handle it when she looses her son as well?"

TeeJay only looked out the window as his hair bounced back and forth. He didn't say anything. He sat there patiently.

The dean gave a loud sigh, and put his hand on his best friend's son, "Listen, you're old enough now to do with what you want to do in life. Don't waste it on just one thing. Explore your options. I'm sure you'll find at least one thing here at the academy that you like."

"Is that it?" The young fighter asked as he raised his head.

"Yeah, go on. You're already late for your history class." The director said as he went back to his chair.

TeeJay stood up and said his farewell. As he was leaving the room and walking out the door, he peered back into the office and said, "Well, I've already found one thing here that I don't like."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"History."

With the office behind him, the abrasive teen began walking down the hallway toward his classroom. When he came up a room whose number was 103, he shook his head and groaned. Putting his hand on the doorknob, he hesitated. With all of his strength, he walked into the room.

The professor, whose gray beard and white suit matched one another, stopped his lecture and turned over to the new student with the entire class. Feeling the eyes of the numerous students on him, the Quadra dueler walked up and handed the teacher a clear card.

"I don't need it," Professor Galh said, "I already know who you are. And so does the entire class I supposed. I saw you on the television. It was a good fight. Now, a question. Do you think that being a Quadra champion would allow you to be late to my class?"

Confused, TeeJay could only shake his head and said, "no."

"Good. And now, thanks to your interruption, the class will have an addition assignment tonight," he announced in a booming voice.

The entire classed answered in disappointment groans and moans as the fighter tried his hardest to not run out of the room when he saw a waving arm at the back of the room. It was the girl he met in the hall.

"Well, since Miss Erin is so glad that you're here, why don't you go and take the empty seat next to her."

As the green and blue eye human walked passed the numerous alien and human students alike, he heard a trailing voice behind him, "Oh, I also received a note from your previous teacher from your previous school. You ran out on the test you were taking, so that mean you're taking it over again."

Sitting down on his chair, he almost collapsed from the embarrassment he had to go through when a sweet voice filtered through his ears.

"Don't worry, he's like this to every new student, not just you. In a few weeks, he might become nicer."

"Might?" TeeJay smiled at the girl next to him.

"Well, we can always hope," she smiled back as she returned to her notes.

Pressing a few keys on the computer in front of him, he activated the testing program. He picked up the glasses on the desk and put them over his eyes. The entire classroom before him disappeared as he found himself standing in a grassland field with the sun burning bright overhead.

The flowers were blooming, and the birds and bees were buzzing and flying back and forth. The wind was light, and for miles beyond there were only the green grass and the wild flowers. The clouds were scattered in the sky.

He stood there with his arms crossed. Suddenly, another person appeared wearing the apparels of war. A sword was to the person's side with a small gun strapped to the belt.

"Hello TeeJay, I'm glad to see you back again. You ran out last time, so the answers you gave were nullified. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do," The man spoke.

"Terra," the dueler said out loud, "can you do anything about this?"

"I'm sorry TeeJay," replied a voice, "But he's right. It was a rule of the test, and I cannot break it,"

"Now, if you're ready," the man said again, "let's begin the test."

"So where's the army?"

"They're coming,"

The holographic man led the young fighter into a small valley with blossoming flowers. They stood there and waited. Seconds passed, and suddenly, a low rumbling caused the birds and bees to fly into the air. Appearing on one side was a human army wearing blue, and on the other side was a battalion wearing gray. Their swords were by their side while their guns were already drawn.

After a few quick shouts, the trembling sounds of shooting guns filled the air. Blood fell from the body, along with limbs and body parts. When both sides were littered with rotting corpse, the shooting stopped, as the two armies froze in mid-action.

"Who are the two sides fighting one another?" The holographic man asked.

"The Union army and the Confederate army," TeeJay replied in a bored tone.

"Correct. What war is this?"

"The civil war."

"Wrong."

"Fine," he commented, "The United State's Civil War."

"Correct. How long was this civil war?"

"Four years," the Quadra dueler replied.

As soon as the last question was answered, the two sides were unfroze. After quick shouts of order, they both drew their swords and charged at one another. Thousands of men charged at their common comrade in the name of loyalty to their nation. Their feet pounded the strong dirt beneath. Standing in the middle was TeeJay and the holographic teacher.

The two enemies collided in the middle. Sounds of sword hitting one another spilt forth into the air as body fell. The green grassland immediately turned into a red battlefield. Again, the action froze as the teacher asked his questions, "What were the casualties of this battle?"

"Specific?" The human boy questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Specific or general," came the answer.

"At least ten thousand,"

Outside the virtual testing, time passed, and after an hour, the bell rung and the students hurriedly packed their belongings and left the class. Lifting the glasses away from his eyes, TeeJay stood up and stretched his arms. He walked up to the front and handed a semi-transparent card to his teacher.

"There's the result," he said as he walked for the door.

"Good job," came a voice from behind.

Without turning around to see if he had imagined what he had just heard, TeeJay opened the door and heard his stomach rumbled in pain. Patting it gently, he left the classroom and began his travel toward the cafeteria.


	6. My Life

**Chapter 5: My Life**

The hallway was packed. Students were opening and closing their holographic lockers. Some grabbed their homemade food, while others put away their book. Hanging on both side above the lockers were active promotional posters. They spewed forward the latest shoes and clothing style.

As TeeJay made his way forward, he could feel the students' eyes on him. They were looking at him as he passed by. Not knowing what to do, he tried his best not to look nervous and continued on walking. After getting lost quite a bit, he had made it to the cafeteria.

It was a gigantic arena. Its ceiling was over four stories high, and it was over fifty yards long and sixty yards wide. Hanging high over the heads of the students were various banners of championship won and battles earned. On both sides were cooks preparing food. In between were benches that were already filled up as he entered the room. The flooring was Starlinean marble, and the wallpapers sparkled forward their beauty.

High above, sunlight entered the cleared glass. Vines and exotic plants climbed and traversed their way across the ceiling while television and banners advertised their wares and products. The commercials were ironically drowned out by the conversations of the thousands of students in the court.

Pushing his way through the crowd, TeeJay strolled over to one of the serving area and grabbed his food. With meal and drinks in his tray, he felt the inner court was too crowded for him. After a few minutes of walking, he exited the cafeteria and entered the outdoor eating area. It was only twenty feet wide, but it was as long as the inside eating area.

Decorated umbrellas were placed at every table, along with seating made from the same material as the floor. Various plants and vines climbed along the railing. Only a reach a way were speeding air-cars and the high-street. The sky was blanketed with falling snowflakes. It was a white day. Yet, thanks to the protective shield, the outside yard was snow-free.

He found a table for four right by the edge and took his seat. After a few quick bites, he looked up at the holographic television screen to find out that the scientists had made a breakthrough.

"We're here at the Oathox Science Building," the Reporter explained into the camera, "to detail to you a breakthrough in science. Professor Hope, can you tell us what you have discovered this time?"

The professor, a beautiful lady of brunette hair with glasses replied, "I'm happy to say that this is a victory for the law enforcement of the galaxy. We have found a way to go back to the very scene of the incident through the victims and the accused. We have discovered a portion of the brain that saved data of what is seen, touched, felt, smelled, and heard at the time of the crime. Because the memory doesn't disappear, we are able to bring it back, even if the person is dead. Thanks to this technology, officers have been able to reopen unsolved case. Here, I'll demonstrate an example. Would you be willing to volunteer?"

After the reporter had agreed, the professor stuck a small cylinder object up the nose and left it there for ten seconds. After the time was up, she removed it and put it into a machine.

"Now, let's see what you ate for breakfast shall we? We'll retrieve your memory from this morning, and look, voila. The screen here projects forward what you saw, the speakers amplify what you heard, and the readings will tell us what you taste, felt, and smelled during your breakfast."

"Hey!"

Surprised, TeeJay jumped at the sound of the voice. Looking over, he saw that it was the girl whom he had bumped into before.

"Did I surprise you?" She flashed her beautiful smile.

"Oh…umm…no, I was…I was just watching the…" he stumbled with his choice of words as he rubbed his head out of embarrassment.

Giggling, she asked, "So…are you going to invite me to sit down? Or should I stand and talk?"

"Oh! Sorry, yeah, go ahead, you can sit," he tried to fake a smile.

Still giggling, she said, "You're funny. So, what are you watching?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just some technological breakthrough. But then again, they're always having miracle breakthroughs," he replied as he took his eyes from the screen and stared into her eyes.

"So, are the rumors true?" She asked with a hint of interest in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" He tried to play it off as if he didn't know.

"Well, there's a rumor that the Quadra champion of Earth is a student here. And that the student is you," she said while looking into his green and blue eyes.

"Do you believe those rumors?" He again acted as if he didn't know.

"I don't know really. But I do know for one thing. Not many people have eyes like yours genetically. People do them by surgery, or their parents altered their gene to make it so. But, yours came natural didn't it? I don't know how many people in the world have them naturally, but I do know one, and he is the winner of the Quadra Tournament," she replied.

"Then I guess those rumors are true then," he smiled.

"I also heard," she tilted her head to one side, "you made a fool out of Spark in the simulator room,"

"Sorry…" TeeJay lowered his head, "I didn't mean to embarrass your boyfriend."

At the sound of the word, she burst out laughing, "Haha, you thought that he was my boyfriend? That's far from the truth. Let's just say he's a persistent person."

"Haha, well, at least his ego isn't as big as it was before huh?"

"Yeah…" she broke off into a silent thought.

"What is it?"

"Were you scared? You know, when you were fighting the others? Did you ever think about what would happen if you had died?"

"I tried not to really," he replied frankly as he took a sip of his drink, "When you fight, you can't worry about dying, because if you do, it will occupy your mind, and instead of paying attention to your opponent, you worry about something else. That would be the deadliest mistake a fighter can make."

"So, how are you enjoying your first day here?" She questioned him in a honest voice.

"I like it, I guess. It's bigger than my last school. Too much walking. But I like it. It's pretty nice," he said as he threw the cup into a nearby trashcan.

"So, do you have any special lady in your life right now?" She gave a wide grin.

"It depends, are you interested?" He returned the smirk.

They both laughed loudly and jovially. At the sound of their laughter, the other students turned to see what was happening. But when they found out that nothing interesting occurred, they returned back to conversation.

She picked up a green apple and took a small bite out of it, and then turned to him and asked, "Hey, is TeeJay your real name?"

He drifted away for a second, and appeared to not have been paying attention.

"Hey!" She said out loud.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized, "were you saying something?"

"Yeah, is TeeJay your real name?" she asked again.

"Well, it's actually my stage name. Or I guess you can call it that. My real name is Thomas-James. And when I was young, people didn't like saying my full name, so they just abbreviate it to TJ. And then when I started the Quadra league, the fans thought it would be clever to spell it as T, e, e, a capital J, a, and then y. Say the same way, except with four more letters," he explained in one breath.

"Oh…hey, what are you doing tonight?" She asked out of nowhere.

"Umm…hmm…I don't know. Why? What are you doing?" He questioned back as he leaned on his chair.

"There's an air-car race tonight at the Pory District. You should come, it could be fun," she said in an inviting tone.

"Sorry, but I'm not much of a racer. A fighter yeah…but I don't know how to race," he commented.

"Do you have an air-car?"

"Well…yeah…but…"

"Then you got nothing to worry about. Come on, it'll be fun. You don't have to race, but you'll get to see some of the finest air-car around," she nodded her head.

"Hmm…what's the catch?" A grin came onto his face.

"What do you mean a catch?" she tried to act innocent.

"All right, come on, what is it? I can see it in your eyes."

"No, there's no catch. It's just…there's this girl I know that's going, and she stole my last boyfriend from me, and so…well…I just want to show up with you to make her jealous," she tried to avoid looking into his eyes.

"Haha, I guess I'll do it. Better than staying at home I guess," he laughed as he stared up into the falling snow.

"Awe, thank you so much," she said as she got up and hugged him. Then, they both came crashing down as his chair flipped over.

Lying on top of him, she started giggling. They lied like that for the next few seconds, and then the bell rang. She got up and helped him off his feet.

"Sorry about that," she apologized with a blush on her face.

"It's okay. It happens all the time," he tried to lie with small red patches on his cheeks.

"That's the bell. I got to go to class. I'll call you tonight, yeah? Bye!" She waved him farewell and left.

"Wait! Hmm, Terra, can you get an uplink onto her onboard computer," he thought as he brushed the dirt off his clothing.

"I'm sorry TeeJay, but she doesn't have one," a digitized voice replied.

"Weird…upper citizens should have one. Well, I guess if she doesn't call me, I can call her," he said as he reached out his hand and passed it through the protective barrier. After catching a snow, he brought it back and dropped it onto the ground. With a smile on his face, he left for his next class.

The sun waned above the horizon, and the Quadra fighter opened the door to his house. He walked over to the sofa and slumped down with a load sigh of relief. His first day at his new school wasn't bad. He made a few friends. Thinking back, he wondered how he made it through the classes after his lunch break. They were easy to understand and learn, but he slept through most of the lesson.

The golden sun slyly penetrated the glass window, casting low shadows on the objects in the house. Thanks to the air conditioning system, his home was kept at a cool temperature throughout the day. Realizing that his mom wasn't home yet, he shifted his feet onto the sofa and lied back on his head.

His muscles ached from the fight at school while his head twirled with dizziness. His stomach growled from the lack of food, adding into the torment.

'Thank God that tomorrow there's no school,' he thought to himself.

A sudden, sweet smelling scene crept up the nostrils of his nose and registered an image in his brain.

'Guess Mom must have left me food,' he pondered.

Standing up from the cushion seat, he headed over to the small, compact kitchen area and opened an enclosed capsule to reveal the food his mom had made. He popped open the refrigerator and removed a drink. He took the two to the nearby glass table and began eating his dinner. The food was a welcoming sight for his stomach. Filled, he brought the dirty plate and cup over to a machine and put it into the machine. Seconds later, he took out the newly washed and rinsed eating wares.

While walking to his room, a nearby telephone rang with great intensity. He pushed an invisible button and out came a transparent screen. Unseen machines started twisting and whirling, and soon, a 3-D image appeared.

"Hey TeeJay!" greeted the girl on the screen.

"Hey," he said out of surprised, "how did you get my number? I forgot to give it to you."

"Oh, that's okay. I'd managed to find it anyway," she said with a broad grin on her face.

"So, what's up?" He asked as he walked down the hall and into his room.

As he entered, the original screen disappeared and out came another one by the side of his bed.

"Well, are you still coming with me to that thing tonight?" She replied with a question on her face.

"Umm…yeah I guess, if you want me to," he answered while scratching the back of his head.

"Haha, you're funny. Yeah, of course I want you to go. I mean, if I didn't, then I wouldn't have invited you in the first place right?" She put her hand over her mouth to cover her giggling.

"I guess, but umm…my mom took the only air-car," he mumbled in a low tone.

"Oh, if that's the case, then I'll come and pick you up yeah?" she said with a brightened face.

"You can do that, if you want," he said halfheartedly.

"What's wrong? If you don't want to go, then just say so, you know? I mean, I don't want to pressure you or anything," she commented in a caring voice.

"No…it's just that this will be the first time I'm leaving my house after school to go somewhere other than to go training," he lowered his voice along with his head.

"Oh, well, that's okay then. I'll make sure you have a lot of fun tonight, mmkay? I promise!" She said in an excited tone.

"All right, when are you coming?" He said, still staring at the holographic screen.

"I'll be over there in around thirty minutes or so. Oh, before I go, try and dress warm okay? It should be snowing tonight as well, so unless you want to freeze, I suggest you bring a sweater or something. Well, bye," and with that, the screen returned to its original place and the 3-D image disappeared.

"Terra, can you buy me that jacket I was looking at a few days back?" TeeJay said out loud.

From a speaker high in the room spoke a female voice, "Are you sure? It's quite expensive."

"Well, I have to spend my money on something," he said as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"It is purchased. It should arrive in your inventory in about a minute or so," said the voice.

"Thanks," he said as he took off his clothing and stepped into the shower stall.

Soon, hot water came streaming down the faucet. It splashed on his battle-hardened body and bounced off into the air. Steam rose into the air, causing the glasses to condense with water vapors. After his hair was washed and his body was cleaned, the auto dry cleaning was activated. Minutes passed, and he stepped out of the stall fully cloth, wearing his latest purchase. Soon, the doorbell rang and at the entrance was the jovial Erin, dressed in her warm winter clothing.

"Hey!" She said with a bright smile, "ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," TeeJay replied as he followed her into the hovering air-car right outside his entrance.

When the doors closed, the electronic display on the dashboard began lighting up. An electronic voice asked for the destination.

"Pory District," Erin said.

The hydraulic machinery began whirling and the air-car slowly moved sideway, and soon launched full speed forward as it joined the others on the intra-highway. The snow was still falling. Its white surface bounced off the windshield of the flying transportation. Although it was already dark, the lights from the city flew forth with intense beauty, illuminating the roadways and walkways.

Looking outside at the speeding lights, he began thinking about his newly made friend. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life. Everything about her attracted him to her. Yet, he knew it wasn't worth it. He led the life of fighter, not of a businessman or of an administrator. He understood that his life expectancy wasn't long. Unless he changed his profession, he thought, he would never live long enough.

Weary of the hanging silence, TeeJay said out of nowhere, "So, what are we going to do tonight?"

"Well," she answered as checked the mirror, "we can go visit a friend of mine who's dying to meet you. Then, we can go to the dance floor if you like. I don't know, we'll just have to see when we get there."

"Who's your friend?" He asked with a note of curiosity.

"Oh, she's just a big fan of you. I told her you were coming, and she got really excited!" She responded with a little smile.

Scratching his head, he said in a frank tone, "Umm…just to let you know, I'm not good at fan meeting. The last time I met a fan, I…how can I say this…let's just say she had to spend a night in the hospital."

"Haha," she laughed heartily, "well, we'll try and prevent it from happening this time okay?"

The air-car pulled into a parking lot, and latched onto a floating platform. Both of them got out on the passenger's side and two speeding car sped right by them at lightning speed.

"Seems like they're racing already," she commented as she led him into an outdoor platform where hundreds of others were already gathering.

As they pushed their ways through the crowd, TeeJay felt a hand grabbed his shoulder. Turning around with his fingers around his necklace, he saw that it was an old acquaintance.

"Listen…I'm sorry," Spark said as he beamed a threatening look at his two lackeys to apologize as well, "I didn't know that you were…well,"

"It's okay," the fighter smiled, "I had fun,"

"Hey Spark!" Erin said with a bright smile as she appeared next to TeeJay.

"Hi Erin," the giant said in a lowered tone, "you look nice,"

Just as the jovial girl was about to respond, a shout came somewhere up front that two cars were coming directly their way. As the crowd dispersed to get out of the way, the five stood there until they saw what the panic was about. Not too far away, two air-cars were speeding directly at them and the two drivers had already jumped out.

Realizing that there wasn't enough time to run, TeeJay pushed Spark and Erin out of the way and shouted, "Get out!"

He reached for his crystal, which instantly transformed into the blue-glowing Quadra sword. In lightning speed, he slashed the first air-car in half, sending the two sides flying off into the distant. He turned his head to watch the magnificent explosion in the distant when an alarming shout caused him to turn around.

"Shoot…" he said as the lights from the second on-coming air-car flashed his eyes. He managed to raise his blade to defend himself. But, the force from the oncoming object sent him spiraling backward. He felt a sharp pain from his back as darkness overtook his eyes.


	7. Troublesome Son

**Chapter 6: Troublesome Son**

The sun was slowly lifting from the eastern horizon. The neon signs from the outside world faded away as natural light filtered through the metropolis. Although it was early in the morning, foot traffic was already beginning to build. Early morning delivers were taking place. The house was at a cool temperature.

A woman slowly rose up from her peaceful slumber and stumbled over to the bathroom. The lights automatically turned on as soon as she walked in. Outside a holographic image of a young lady appeared from the projection machine.

"Good morning, Anisa," the projection spoke clearly, "it appeared as though I didn't need to wake you up today."

The woman smiled and began taking off her clothing. Once naked, she stepped into the shower stall and turned on the automated cleaning machine. As water sprouted from the fountainhead, the image lady began reciting news that had occurred during the night.

"Anisa, there was a mail for you. It is from the director of the contracting company. They have agreed to your terms, and said construction will begin shortly on Hilaris, and they said it has been great working with you."

Refreshed from the shower, the middle age woman stepped out from the shower stall. Pressing a button near the mirror, she opened her holographic closet and took out her working attire.

"Ah, that's good news indeed, isn't it Terra? Finally, after months of hard work, they have agreed to the plan. This is good. After just a few more paperwork, I'll finally be able to spend more time with TeeJay. By the way, speaking of my son, Terra, is my capo still sleeping?"

"Yes, he's slumbering like an elephant," the computer said as she turned to look at the woman walking out of the bathroom.

"Ah, we'll let him sleep a bit more. Wake him up in fifteen minutes or so," the Mother said as she hurried left and right trying to gather all of her files and paper.

Leaving her bedroom behind, she walked into the kitchen where she picked up the cup of coffee that was recently brewed for her.

"Yum, this is good Terra. You're getting better everyday," she complimented as she raised her cup into the air.

"Thank you," Replied a voice within her head.

Anisa quickly skipped over to the cupboard and pulled out a small candy bar. Sitting down on a chair by the living room table, she turned on the computer and soon began typing away her summary of recommendations for the continuation of colonization of the planet Hilaris.

Time passed by, and soon her coffee cup was empty and there was nothing left of the bar except the wrapper. Soft footsteps caused her to look from the screen to see her son already up and dressed.

"How was your sleep capo?" She inquired for a quick second and then returned to her holographic computer.

"Mom…can you stop calling me that? I'm not a boy anymore you know?" He complained with a dry grin on his face.

After a quick laugh, she remarked, "If you're not a boy, then what are you?"

"Well, an adult," he replied

"Then, if you're an adult," she grinned, "You can finish this plan for further colonization of Hilaris,"

"Sorry mom," he said with a smirk, "I got school,"

Before she could counter, he rushed out the door after grabbing a cookie. Shaking her head with a smile, she returned to her computer when she heard the door opening slightly and a familiar voice.

"Mom…can I borrow the car?"

"Get out of here!" She laughed as she threw a plastic ball at the door.

When the house was silent again, she gave a sigh of happiness and turned back to the computer when the phone rang.

While typing away at the projected keyboard, she turned to the phone to her side and said, "Hello?"

"Hey Anisa, it's Ann," said a face on the other end.

"Oh, hey Ann," TeeJay's mother said, "I'm just completing the recommendation right now. What do I owe for this early call?"

"You better get down to the office. Did you receive the mail sent to you?"

"Yeah, what's going on Ann?"

"Well, it seems as though the company's head is reconsidering its decision. They feel that Chinya Corporation will do a better job than our firm at expanding Hilaris,"

"Chinya Corp? Hah!" She burst out laughing, "Those fools can't even find the moon if there's no cloud in the sky and it's a full moon."

"Well, no matter what, I suggest you get down here and change their mind. I'm having a hard time stalling them, so you better hurry up Anisa."

"All right Ann. I'll be there as soon as possible. Just stall them in the meantime, kay?"

"Yeah, I'll try. Bye," the image disappeared and the room was silent again.

Anisa sighed and gave a loud groan. "Idiots, just idiots. Terra, activate the car please and find me the quickest route to work," she spoke out loud to the empty house.

"Yes madam, the car is ready, and the navigation is all set to go." Answered a voice back.

"All right. And Terra, I don't think I'll be home early today, so make sure you have something prepare for TeeJay before he gets home, okay?" the woman quickly said as she rushed her paperwork together and hurriedly walked to the air-car.

"Okay, I'll make sure he's fed."

"Thanks, I'll see you tonight," she said as she backed out of the house and sped down the sky.

Her air-car sped hastily through the traffic-filled sky, swerving by other hovering vehicles and dodging the traffic that had infested the metropolis ever since the great cosmic migration to Earth.

After a long sky ride, she hurried out of the hovering automobile and gave a key-card to a stand by attendant. Looking at her watch, she quickened her pace through the large office building with marbled tiles and high-rise ceiling. Two great statues stood towering over the secretary's desk. One was that of a man biting on an apple and the other was a woman giving the apple to the man. At the feet of the woman was an inscription that read, 'For the pursuit of knowledge, risks must be taken.' And at the feet of the man it was written, 'The greatest mistake to make is to not make one."

After a quick ride in the elevator, she got off at the thirteenth floor and pushed her way through the door where she was greeted by the eyes of the thirteen associates, the director, and her friend, Ann.

"Ah, you made it Anisa, but you're too late. The associates and I have agreed to the terms proposed by Chinya Corporation," the bald-headed director said with his fingers locked together.

With a nod to her friend, Anisa put a small device at the end of the table, and began, "Gentleman and ladies, I believe all of you are making a mistake. The firm I represent has been known for its efficiency and quickness. Every project that we have started, we have completed it. There is no reason or need for your company to switch over to Chinya Corp. That company," she continued on as she walked around the table while pressing buttons to turn on images that were being projected from the small device, "has been known for corruptions and petty in-fighting. They may offer you a lower price than us, but think about it if you will. Would you be willing to put the lives of the citizens of Hilaris in the hands of Chinya Corp., knowing what that company stands for?"

For the next two hours, she continued on with her presentation. She explained her heart out, knowing that if she couldn't change the associates mind, an entire year of planning and management would go down the drain. Time passed by slowly as she detailed out why her company was better suited for the job.

Inhaling a deep breath, she turned off the machine and waited. The associates turned to one another, and whispered into each others ears. One of them whispered into the director's ear, and gave silent nods to one another.

"Anisa, the associates and I have agreed that we will go over the contracts again. Give us a day for us to go over our decisions. We will tell you our final verdict tomorrow. As for now, we have other businesses to attend to, so if you excuse us," the bald-headed man said as he stood up and walked over to shake her hand.

After a brief round of shaking hands, the two friends walked out of the building and took a ride to a nearby restaurant where they sat down and gave a loud sigh of relief.

"Wow, that was pretty good Anisa. I think if you went any further, you would have convinced them that the sky wasn't blue," Ann said as she ordered her usual.

Taking her seat, TeeJay's mom wiped away the sweat on her forehead and commented, "I don't know. I just hope it was good enough to convince them to think otherwise. If we don't get the contract, then our whole year of staying up late and waking up early will be all for naught."

"Well, there's no point in worrying about it now. So how's your son?" The friend asked casually as she took a sip of her drink.

"You mean TeeJay? He's doing fine…I hope. I wonder how his first day at school is," Anisa answered looking through the restaurant's glass at the passing vehicles.

"You know, every time I see him fight, my heart skips a little bit. I can only imagine how it would be like to be you. I heard he's going to quit fighting,"

"TeeJay? Stop fighting? Ha! He's just like his father. Never knowing when to quit until it's too late…"

"It's okay Anisa. I'm sure he'll quit soon. Shoot, I think it's time we leave this place. Come on, we better hurry up before we get a talk from our director!"

"Yeah, let's go."

After leaving a card on the table, the two women exited the restaurant and got into their hovering vehicles. Their air-cars sped hastily through the busy traffic whilst the sky continued to cry white snow. Buildings appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly. Motorists seated themselves in their automobile, some listening to music while others watching the morning news.

After a turn at one of the metropolis' copious corner, their air-cars came to a complete halt. In front of them was a traffic grid.

"Look's like an accident. Hey Ann, can you call ahead to the office and let them know that we're going to be late?" Anisa spoke out loud in her vehicle.

"Yeah, I already did that. Looks like it's going to be one of those slow day, isn't it?" The friend laughed out loud.

"Yeah…" the middle age woman voice trailed off as she looked ahead to see the bumper to bumper heavy traffic that had succumb the once high flowing freeway into a dead halt.

With her handle portable machinery in her hand, Anisa quickly strolled into the office and threw her jacket on the chair. Sitting down and leaning back, she let out a loud sigh of relief as a familiar face appeared from the corner.

"Ah, looked like you took your sweet time getting to work Anisa," the handsome young man said as he entered the room and sat on the desk.

"Don't," she blurted out, "even think about it. I just sat through three hours of traffic jam. Now is definitely not the time to make me mad!"

"Whoa, calm down tiger," the man smiled, "had a rough day huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," she replied while turning on the gadget that was in her hand.

"So how did it go? Were you able to convince them?" He questioned as he took a seat in one of the blue lean-back chairs.

"I don't know. They said they'll give us the answer tomorrow," she answered while taking a sip from the water-filled cup.

"Well, hey, Anisa, I have something I've been meaning to ask you," the young man said as he pushed his chair next to hers, "since everything is done and completed, I thought it would help you out if you go tonight, and have some fun."

She looked at him, and said, "Are you asking me out on a date Robert?"

With a wide grin on his face, he responded, "Well, it's just a dinner and a club. If you want to call it a date, then I guess you can."

Just before she opened her mouth, one of the secretaries burst into the room, "Anisa, your son, TeeJay," she said out of breath.

Quickly rising from her chair, she approached the young girl, "What about my son?!"

"There's been an accident. The hospital just called me. They ask for your presence."

"Oh my god, TeeJay…" the middle age woman hurriedly picked up her jacket and rushed out of the room and began sprinting down the hall.

"I wonder what kind of answer that was," Robert said as he smiled and leaned back against the chair to look at the ceiling that was decorated with pictures of baby TeeJay.


	8. The Chase

**Chapter 7: The Chase**

A soothing wind blew from the side. It was a cool sensation. A bright light next to him penetrated his eyelids. TeeJay slowly tried to lift them off, and was greeted by the burning sensation of the brightness on his eyes. A painful ache rumbled inside his head as he attempted to raise his body off the bed.

A gentle hand was placed on his forehead. He turned to see that it was his mom. Her mouth moved, but he couldn't hear the words. With a weak smile, he lied back down on the comfortable bed and sleep took him.

The arousing wind was back. His breathing was normal, but his body was like jelly. His bones were sore and his muscles cringed at the thought of movement. The veils to his eyes were slowly raised, and he could see the burning sun to his side. There were lights everywhere, and the regular beeping of the heart-monitoring machine bothered his sleep.

He looked at his hands to see holes all over his body. Thinking back, he couldn't recollect when he was so tired. Turning sideway, he could see his mom speaking with some doctor. Their lips moved, but all he could hear was the cooling air conditioner. Outside the windows, air-cars flew by minding their own business.

Tiredness took its hold, and he fell into slumber again. He dreamt of nothing. There was nothing to dream off. Instead, he could only see darkness. He saw something, but then wasn't sure of what he had seen. And then, from out of nowhere, a light appeared. It shredded the skin on his body, and wiped clean of any human tissue. He looked down, and saw that his body was an ethereal.

The wonderful wind was gone. He felt a different cushion below him. There was now a melodic music. It was a peaceful one. He opened his eyes again, and found himself in his bedroom. The pain and tiredness were gone. He rolled over to the side and half-fell onto the soft ground.

He stood upright, and began walking. After bumping into the drawers and doors, he made it to the kitchen where his mom was typing on the holographic keyboard. Hearing his heavy footstep, she turned over and gave a bright smile.

"How are you?" She said compassionately as she got up and helped him to a chair.

"Fine, I think. What happened?" He asked curiously.

"Well," she said as she poured out a cup of tea, "the good news is that your bones were easily fixed and healed pretty fast. The bad news is that you broke nearly every bone in your body."

"Is that why there's a strange taste in my mouth? They used the Jainvo surgery on me?"

"Yeah, they had to. All of your bones were completely shattered, although your skull survived the ordeal," she pushed him on the head.

"Haha, didn't I tell you that having a hard head could be a good thing?" He gave a grin as he drank the tea.

"You could joke now, but you had me terrified," teardrops formed within her eyes, "I lost your father…I don't want to loose you too."

"You won't mom. I'll be more careful next time," he tried to sound honest, "so then what happened"

"Well, they performed the operation on you and were able to restore all of the bones to their former self. They even made a few enhancements while at it," she gave a slight smirk.

"Which would be?"

"Well, I thought that you were kind of short, so I had them lengthen your bones," she moved back in anticipation.

"Mom!" He yelled out in rage until the pain in his throat caused him to quiet down, "you did what? How much taller?"

"Not that much, darling. It's only an inch or two. And I thought you always wanted to be taller," she patted him on the side.

"Yeah, through natural growth, not technological modification. Dammit mom, do you know what you just did? You've just disqualified me from the next Quadra tournament," he said in an angry tone as he rushed out of the door.

She tried to chase after him, but by the time she had gone outside, he had disappeared. He waited off in the distance in a corner. When his mom had gone back in, he left his hiding spot and began walking. To where he didn't know and for how long he couldn't tell.

His bones and muscles were still young. His feet hurt whenever he stomped hard on the holographic ground, and his muscles screamed with pain whenever he made a fast movement. Soreness tried to send him back home, but he continued on despite the pain.

The sun he had loved was gone. In its place were gray clouds that cried white tears that blanketed the sky. The burning ball wasn't really gone. It was just hiding. It was freezing cold outside the barrier, but inside it was a natural sixty-degree Fahrenheit.

The skywalks were crowded with the populace. They were all of different stature and side. Air-cars zoomed by without waiting for a reply. While the world cried white tears, TeeJay was in heavy thoughts as he tried to figure out a way to repair the mistake his mom had made.

Anger still burned inside his heart as he thought about how stupid his mom was. Yet, it didn't last long as sadness took over. He knew she was only trying to help, and he shouldn't be angry at her. But now, his career, the life he had chosen had been easily destroyed.

He continued walking for a long distant. The sound of his name entered his ears, but he thought it was for someone else. He kept on walking and thinking until a giant arm grasped his shoulder. Turning around on instinct, he immediately removed his sword when he saw that it was Spark.

"Whoa! Hey, it's me, Spark. And I'm not trying to pick a fight with you this time."

Relaxing his aching muscle, he said in a disgruntled tone, "What is it? I'm not in the mood right now."

"Wow, looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Come on, since you're walking, why don't we take a walk together?"

"Whatever," he said as he began walking away without waiting for the Giga to follow.

"What's wrong?" The alien said in an almost caring voice.

"You wouldn't understand…" the Quadra fighter's voice trailed off.

"Hmm, then I guess it has nothing to do with your recent disqualification from the Quadra-league?"

Without even a hint of surprise in his voice, TeeJay said, "So then you know, and if you know, then everyone knows…"

"Yeah, that sucks huh? You are the best fighter Earth has to offer, and now you're out," he snapped his finger, "just like that."

"Are you here to tell me something I already know?" The human kept his head lowered.

"You are in a grumpy mood. Well, I'm actually here to offer you a chance to undo the mistake," the extra-terrestrial said with a grin on his face.

"What are you talking about?" TeeJay stopped walking and stared directly into the eyes of his former adversary.

"Haha," the Giga gave a gruff laugh, "I knew that'll catch your interest. Come on, keep walking and I'll tell you about it."

They continued on with their walk while the snow colored the skyscraper pure white. They arrived at a café and entered. They took their seats and while the Giga ordered something, the human didn't. Around them, different species throughout the corner of the universe dined with one another. They shared stories and interest while soft music was played in the background.

"So, you were going to tell me something?" TeeJay asked in a strict voice.

"Patience young human, the day is still young," Spark laughed out loud as he sipped on the cup, "I have a friend. Who, let's not say right now. Let's just say he works out of the spotlight. He had helped me repair my injuries from my fights. When he found out that you were disqualified, he became interested. He knew that you would be mad at that, and so he told me to tell you that he can make you qualify again,"

"What are you talking about?" The human questioned in a hushed tone.

"He can make you shorter again. The doctors manipulated your gene and tissues to make you taller without additional supplement. This guy can manipulate your gene to make it revert back the way they were before the operation. Thus, the judges will have no other choice but to put you back in." Spark bit down on the apple on the plate.

"How could I trust him?"

"Well, it's not like he's removing your brain or something, so even if he fails, you'll still live. But so far, out of all of the operations he had done, he had never failed. But it's up to you. You can choose to do it, or not. It depends on how bad you want to be a Quadra-fighter again,"

TeeJay thought for a moment. His mind raced with indescribable emotions. He had been given a second chance. His heartbeat picked up. Sweat formed at the base of his hair. He looked into the Giga's eyes and asked, "What does he want in return?"

"Ah, so then you are interested. Well, he isn't asking for money. Instead, he asks for something else. Back in school, he had a friend who stole his girlfriend away from him. Ever since then, he tried to plan the perfect revenge. And then, when he found out his enemy had won the Gift of the Stars, he knew what it would be," Spark explained in a quiet tone.

"Gift of the Stars? I think I've heard of those before. Aren't they awards given to one person each year for their contribution to the universe?"

"Yeah and here's the shocker. His former friend is now your professor. Your history teacher to be more precise," the alien gave a slight grin.

"Wait, I'm not about to murder someone…"

"Whoa, you're getting ahead of yourself. There's no need for murder. The professor keeps the gift in a sealed container at the academy. The protective shield is so strong that nothing is able to penetrate it…except for the material it is the weakest to," Spark tilted his head at TeeJay's necklace.

"My Quadra-sword?"

"Bingo!"

"Why does he want the gift?"

"Who knows? Rumors have it that the Gift of the Stars has the ability to lengthen one's lifetime considerably. And the why doesn't really matter does it? It's really the how. So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know…" TeeJay's voice trailed off, "So all I have to do is take the gift, and bring it to your friend, and he'll do the operation on me?"

"Yup." Came a short reply.

"There's bound to be traps and alarms for the gift though…" the human looked to the side at he thought about his risk.

"Again, it is up to you. You can choose to do this or not. It only depends on how much you want to be a Quadra-fighter."

"And if caught?" The warrior asked, already knowing the answer.

"This conversation never happened. Time is passing by TeeJay. It's decision time. My friend won't be here for long. He's heading toward the outer planets to spend the rest of his life in luxury."

Thomas-James thought for a second. He gave a loud sigh, looked up, and said, "Give me the plan."

Snapping his scaly hands in excitement, the Giga expressed a delightful grin and pulled the human boy along with him as the two continued their stroll down the sidewalk. Air-cars roamed freely around them while the sky above shred their white tears lightly at first, then they roar with great intensity, and then calmed down again.

As they pushed their way through the increasing traffic, Spark began laying out the details of the plan, "It's pretty simple, if you think about," he said, trying to break the tense atmosphere, "All you have to do is go into the academy, go to the trophy room, and take it. Once you get it, log onto your onboard map, go to this location," he gave a small, fold-up piece of paper to the human.

"Once you get there," the alien continued speaking, "drop off the trophy, and another map will be automatically sent to your onboard CPU. You have three days to go to that location to get your surgery. By the end of that third day, the doctor will be leaving the planets. See, it's easy," he smiled brightly.

"What about alarm? There has to be some kind of trap or alarm guarding such a precious item," TeeJay said with a little hint of skepticism in his voice.

"Well, I guess it's up to you. Is the award as great as the risk? And is it worth it? This is where I have to leave. I'll talk to you later TeeJay. Good lucky if you decide to do it," the Giga waved its gigantic arm and disappeared in the midst of the increasing crowd.

The human fighter stood by himself for a moment. Thoughts of doubt entered his mind along with a certain fear of being caught. Spark's words lingered in his mind as he made his way toward the academy. He continued on, thinking the four words as he stepped in front of the trophy room. Was it worth it? If caught, what would happen? Questions of uncertainty clouded his thoughts when he realized he was standing in front of the Gift of Stars.

The pure white crystal dwindled in its case. Lights from above bounced off the reflective surface, enveloping the surrounding room. Stronger and purer than diamonds, the Gift of Stars was a beauty to behold. Its dent-resistant surface allowed it to stay scratch free while its clean outer shell prevented the accumulation of dust.

Shaped in that of a triangle, each of its three points stood for the three main code of life. The leftmost point stood for the innocence of the living. Worn away with history, it stood to represent the changing society and the shifting culture with the ever-changing time. The receiver must have been a person that had preserved a certain piece of history for future generations to learn.

The rightmost point represented the sanctity of life, dictating that all beings were precious and all life must be preserved. It was believed that no matter the crime of a certain person, their existence was considered valuable. Thus, the recipient must be of one who had helped in the cause of defending the living.

The final, and topmost point signified the most important code of them all, the act of friendship. It was believed that the Gift of Stars originated when a certain human sacrificed his life in order to protect the life of his friend during the Universal Drag War. From his dying body came the spirit of friendship, the final piece that fit into the gift. Those who received the award must clearly show that they valued the sacredness of friendship above all, and that their contribution must be in a form that projected the teaching of loving one another.

TeeJay stood in the silent dark room with the soft light from the ceiling lightly reflecting off the Gift of the Stars down below. It was encased within a protective glass that appeared as flexible as a rubber band but as hard as diamonds. The words of Spark entered his mind again. The material was one of the strongest in the galaxy. The only thing that could cut it was the Quadra sword.

The human warrior hesitated. It was complete silence. The darkness prevailed while the lights sparkled. Sweat dripped from his forehead and arms. His breathing was irregular; his hands were shaking. He reached for his necklace and out came the blue blade. He nervously looked around again. He pulled back, and swiftly cut across the carbon glass. The sliced portion immediately fell onto the ground.

Instinct told him that he was in danger. But no alarm rang, no sound went off. His eyes checked the room again. Letting his guard down, he reached forward for the small pearly crystal. When his fingerprints touched the fine glass, the world around him dissolved into a chaotic state of flashing lights and blaring sound.

'Damn,' he thought, 'I must have tripped the alarm.'

Cussing at his predicament, he quickly stored the crystal away and sprinted out of the room while covering his face with inside a hood. When he reached the entrance, he felt a hard hand gripping his shoulder and a stern voice ordering him to stop.

Without waiting, he spun around and twisted his body while bending the arm of his capturer. The sound of bones cracking was accompanied by the painful scream of the officer. TeeJay successfully kneed the guard in the stomach. The sounds of running feet reverberated off the fine marble ground, reaching into the young Quadra fighter's ears.

He hurried down the hall toward the exit when two more protectors of the gift showed up. Knowing that he couldn't use his saber against them, the human boy decided he had to use his body parts. When ordered to stand down, he tried to run pass the opposing guards but when they swung their electrocuted stick at him, he realized they meant business.

The two officers attacked at the same time, each with an electric stick capable of dealing a paralyzing blow to the body. When the two rushed at him, he swiftly took off his outer sweater and tossed them directly in front of the two oncoming attackers. A quick drop kick brought them down. Sensing that more were coming, he rushed through the door and into the bright world.

Then, the thought reached him. He had no way of escaping the academy, situated alone by itself from any sidewalks. Fear traversed across his body. The snows were still falling. He looked back and saw that the guards were aiming for him. They fired their deadly assault, but missed the agile warrior.

He started running forward when his eyes brightened with hope. There was an air-board in front of him. Without a moment to waste, he jumped onto it and speedily tied his shoe in. In just a few seconds, he was already in the air. Looking down below, he could see a figure waving at him.

"Hey! That's my board!!" Screamed the owner of the flying machine as he realized his mode of transportation was stolen from him.

As soon as his body passed through the unseen barrier, the temperature dropped dramatically. The snow fell on him while the freezing wind blasted his exposed skin. He cursed himself for leaving his jacket behind. His arms and body shivered, but amazingly, the gift he had stolen was somehow radiating heat, keeping him warm on the inside, but freezing cold on the outside.

'Terra, initiate the map and placed it over my field of vision. Then trace the direction I should go in black line,' he thought to himself.

"Why black?" Came a reply.

"It should stand out in the white snow," he answered quickly as before his very eyes a black line was created that only he could see. Then a voice roared from behind.

"This is the polica. You are under arrest. Do not choose to run any longer. If you insist, we will open fire without repercussion. We have weapons that even your Quadra-sword cannot block. This is your last chance. Give up! You cannot outrun, nor out fly us!"

TeeJay's mind raced at the thought of death.

'The polica are chasing me. What have I done? I have committed a federal crime. This is bad! Real bad. No! I cannot think like this. I am going to escape them. I will escape them!'

With newly found strength, he hunched his body and took out his blue blade as his air-board continued to fly through the white world. Buildings quickly came into view, and just as fast escaped from sight. Air-cars zoomed by him, sometime hocking their horns while sometime yelling an inaudible curse.

A bullet passed him, grazing the delicate skin on his shoulder. Reeling from the pain, he turned back to see that there were three more polica air-cars following him. The blood froze as soon as it reached the outer skin. His hair covered in white, he tried to maneuver his board in order to becoming a moving target.

The sun was falling on the west side as the darkness was rising from the east side. Just as he turned around to see how far the polica were away, the fine shape of a speeding bullet entered his eyes. With lightning reflex, he arched his back and bent below the projectile.

Suddenly, a shadow was cast over him. Looking up, he saw that another polica air-car was dropping on top of him fast. His heart beating faster and faster, he tried to think of an idea in order to escape the cops that were coming on top when he turned his eyes toward what was in front of him. An intra-bus was slowly moving away from its drop-off point and directly onto his path of direction. To all point of direction were moving cars that would shatter his entire body if made contact.

His muscles budging with excitement, he turned his body and steered in an alternate direction. The board flew through the city with amazing speed. With his vision limited because of the falling snow, he tried to look forward in order to see if any obstacles were coming. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an air-cab appeared in the distant and was on a direct collision course with the human fighter.

His mouth wide in terror, he hastily looked around for alternate options. Then, a beautiful sight entered his eyes. Above him, traveling at the same speed, was an intra-bus. Behind him, the sirens continued to wail. All around him, the buildings began to light up with a variety of light.

TeeJay hunched down, and when the moment came, he leaped from his board and grabbed a hold of the bottom of the bus above him. The cab passed directly over the spot of where his body was at, but missed the flying transportation completely. He released his grip, and easily fell back onto the board.

With a newfound hope, a small smile crept onto his face. The chase continued on, and soon, there were ten polica cars behind him.

'TeeJay, the area of interest is approximately two minutes away,' Terra spoke loudly in his mind.

'Great,' he thought, 'After I drop this arm, the polica can be easily escaped.'

When he turned at the last corner, his smile suddenly disappeared as the same panic returned to his heart. Before him, stretching for miles, was the afternoon traffic. It covered over five levels of airway streets. Adding on was the multiple accidents that had occurred because of those who had no patience.

Plans after plans hastily entered his mind and were quickly destroyed because of its impossibility. The traffic was approaching, and if slowed down, he knew he would be caught. Then, a daring plan showed its face. He thought about it for a split second, and realized that it was the only thing he could do. Dodging through three layers of airway streets, he arrived at the topmost space that any non-military flying vehicle could fly in.

He lowered his body on the board, and waited patiently. The back bumpers of the fast-approaching air-car became visible. As soon as it came into view, Thomas-James leaped over it and landed on top of another one while his board continued to speed forward beneath the traffic.

And then, tragedy came into play. The hood of the air vehicle was wet and slippery from the ice, and the human warrior's shoe could not prevent slippage. His feet slipped, and he felt hard on his back against the metal top of the automobile. Blood spurted from his mouth. Groaning from the pain, he looked back, and through dazed eyes could see the polica approaching without discretion.

After pushing off the hood, he could still see that his last mode of escape was still flying forward. Looking over, he could see the thousand of other cars that were flying beneath him. He was thousands of feet in the air. He stared death in the eyes and made up his mind. With an urge to survive, he began sprinting forward from air-car to air-car. He made a mad dash through the traffic.

He ran with all of his will and might. When he saw a slippery vehicle top in front of him, he slid across it using his weight as a balance. The stinging wind of the higher altitude passed through him like daggers. Frostbite began to develop, but he didn't care. His eyes were squinted so far that his sight became a horizontal vision. His will was powering him now.

The distant flashing of his air-board showed that he was catching up. His hope renewed, he struggled for the last few yards to his last chance of escape. He leaped from cars to cars, and dodged those that were in his way. Seizing the chance of an opening in the traffic that was coming up, he pushed his body to the ultimate limit and dove for his airborne hope.

Suddenly, at the last moment, a polica air-car appeared out of nowhere and stopped directly in his path. There wasn't any chance of dodging the vehicle. The aching boy could only close his eyes in expectation of the oncoming pain. And indeed it did come. His body slammed right into the side of the automobile as saliva and blood sprung from his mouth.

As his body fell lifelessly into the city beneath, the cold wind caressed his face and hair. And then, from inside his body came a warm red glow. The glow poured over his entire body, and his lifeless eyes slowly opened. Panic came again. He was falling, and he had no way of stopping himself. There were cars to grab onto. There was nothing but the impending buildings.

A last-ditch idea came into view. He knew that it wouldn't work, but somehow, he just had to try. He pulled out his sword, and waited. The skyscrapers quickly came into sight and in only a few seconds, they were already passing by his side. With all of his might, he stabbed his blue blade into the glass window. The sword easily pierced through the protective covering.

As he continued to fall, thousands of shattering glass fell behind him. Sparks flew from the point of contact as a deep black line followed his fall. He held on with all of his strength. But it was hopeless. His body became too cold. He developed hypothermia. His joints froze. The warmth of the darkness was welcoming. He slowly closed his eyes and drifted off into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness.


	9. The Odyssey Home

**Chapter 8: The Odyssey Home **

It was the same emptiness as last time. There was no light, only darkness. There was no existence, only void. A zone between worlds, dreams, and realities. It was a long tunnel. Pitched blackness was its walls. Dry and stuffy air was its atmosphere. Red water was its ground. At the end was a circle of light. He could feel his feet running. Why he was running he didn't know. The light was getting closer. Just before he reached the light, the slippery water caused him to trip and fall face first down onto the ruby liquid.

Throwing his body down in exhaustion, thoughts of quitting entered his mind. And then, a certain melodic music began radiating from the end of the tunnel. It sounded familiar. He had heard it before.

His eyelids opened. Wearily looking around, he recognized that he was inside his room. The snow had stopped, and the sun was creeping out from the clouds.

'Am I dead?' TeeJay thought as he surveyed his bed, 'no, this is my room. How am I still alive?'

He pushed himself off the soft mattress and stumbled over to the bathroom. Turning on the cold water, he plunged his face into its path and felt the artic liquid running over his skin. After drying himself off, he left his room and found his mom reading the newspaper in the living room.

"Good morning angel, did you have a good sleep?" Anisa said in a cheerful voice.

"Sleep? What happened to me mom? And how come I am not in jail?" The boy said as he took a seat next to his mother.

Rubbing his cheeks, she explained, "Well, let's just say you're one lucky boy. It's funny. Everyone at the hospital recognized you when they brought you in. Two critical visits in two days."

"But the last thing I remembered was that I was falling…" he tried to recall his memories but to no avail.

"Hmm, well, then someone up there must be looking out for you. Because when the polica found you, you were lying in one of the rooms on that office building that you literally tore to pieces. You were suffering from hypothermia, but other than a few scratches and bruise, you were fine," she said as she enlightened her son, "and they found this feather next to you."

She pulled out a white feather of a foot in length from one of the cupboard, "beautiful isn't it? I haven't seen anything so beautiful and so big. Touch it TeeJay. It has a warm glow to it."

He took the feather from his mom and examined the material carefully. It did feel warm.

"How come I am not in jail? I just stole one of the most valuable items in the universe…" he asked as he stared into his mother's eyes.

"Ah, yes, your little adventure. Well, the good news is that the Gift of Stars was fine. It wasn't damaged, and so the professor and the dean didn't pressed charge and the doctors at the hospital were able to return you back to your original height," she replied with a small grin on her face.

"And the bad news?" He stuttered with a bad feeling inside of him. He could almost anticipate what his mom was going to say, but held back some kind of hope that it wouldn't come true.

"The dean has voided your Quadra-league qualification. You won't be able to fight anymore until he says so," she gave a bright smile.

"What!? He can't do that," the boy barked out loud, realization that the bad feeling was accurate.

"Well, he just did. And would you rather spend ten years in jail for just a sport?"

"Mom, did you have anything to do with this?" 

"I may have…persuaded him a little bit," she said with a wide grin.

"Mom! So then what am I going to do until he said I can?" He already knew that it was a hopeless fight. But his stubbornness couldn't let go.

"Don't raise your voice on me young man! You're lucky I don't ground you for the rest of your life! Do you know how scared I was when I was told that you had gotten into an accident, again!? And you were lucky no charges were pressed on you. Even the owner of the board you stole didn't choose to press any," she roared back in a voice of rage.

He lowered his head, and said, "I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean to…I mean…I am sorry for making you worried." First was the feeling of regrets, then apologetic. And finally, it was humility.

"Oh, I have another good news. The plan for the colonization. The company accepted it!" She said, knowing that her son had been wishing for her to succeed in her battle with the unexpectedness of life.

"They did?! Ha-ha, congratulation mom. I knew you could do it," he gave his mother a big hug as the two shared in on the joy.

"Yeah, so now this means that we're set. After all of those times that I couldn't spend with you, now I am going to make it up. I am going to finally be a mother to you now," she remarked with tears building up in her eyes.

"Don't worry mom, you've always been a mother to me," he said as he pressed his head closer to her shoulder.

"I love you…I want you to know that. No matter what you do, or who you become, I will always love you," she uttered softly.

"I love you too mom."

"Oh, I forgot. In order to repay for the damages you've done, you are going to have to do some community service, and it begins today."

"Community service? What community service?" He pulled back from his mom's hold. The bad feeling came back again as he recounted his last time at community service when he accidentally burned down the center for disable children.

"You're going to go help at the Oathox Science Building. The academy's dean and I have already made arrangement. So hurry up and get ready. I don't want you to be late." She nudged him from the cushion.

With a loud groan, he got up from the sofa and was pushed when his mom kicked him on the butt. As he changed inside his room, a light beep caused him to stop midway.

"Terra, do I a mail?" He said out loud.

"Yes, it's a card from a person name Erin. No last name was given," replied a female voice.

"Play it," he said as he walked into his bedroom from the bathroom.

"Hey Thomas-James, or should I say TeeJay?" Erin's projection giggled, "How are you? Been staying out of troubles lately?" She laughed, "Well, anyway, I just want to send you this card to say I hope you get well and feel better okay? And I'll see you at school tomorrow. Until then, keep your feet to the ground and stay safe. Bye!" After she blew him a kiss, the image died out.

'Thanks Erin…I needed that,' he thought as he left his room.

The ride to the science building was a peaceful one. The world passed by as he sat next to the window. The sun was gone and it began snowing again. Leaving the bus, he walked up to the roman style building. Vines ran from the garden below high into the roof and dangled around the frozen clock made from rocks. Granite pedestals supported the high tech housing behind the ancient covering. The trees that surrounded the courtyard were enveloped in the white snow.

Sighing, he began walking toward the entrance where he was greeted by a woman in a white cover dress.

"Hello," she stuck her hand out, "you must be TeeJay Angelus. I'm Professor Pandora Hope, nice to meet you."

After they had shaken each others hand, the scientist led the young warrior into the great hall. As she led him to the elevator, his eyes traced the outline of the interior. Green vines ran across the entire ceiling. All points of the building traced a semi-circle toward the center where it arched up. There, a painting of two people touching each other's finger was drawn. There were others dressed the same way as the professor. Some hurried to each one of the specific lab, while others conversed with one another about the latest theories.

After a quick ride in the elevator, and a short walk down the hall, the two had finally arrived at their destination. The glass panel door behind them slid to a close. In front of them was a machine infested with weeds and plants. Its gray square shape gave an aura that it wasn't man-made.

She walked up next to the apparatus, and lightly tapped it, "So what do you think? This is our newest baby, and I have been assigned to investigate it. And since I was told of your great intelligence as well as vast knowledge of science, I thought you would make a great assistant."

"I think whoever told you about my credibility were over exaggerating a little bit," he smiled a bit as he approached the ancient item.

"Well, no matter. Early testing showed that this little equipment here is not a product of Earth. Or this universe for that matter…"

"What do you mean, 'or this universe?' He asked as he placed his head next to the outer covering.

"We ran particle elementary analysis and the sample that it gives us has no direct match with any component in our table of elements," she explained to him as her hand traced the shield protecting its secret.

"Perhaps then it has an element that we haven't discovered yet?"

"Perhaps, but we have the highest number of known element counts in our database, and there wasn't a single match. Our library has elements from over two hundred life-giving galaxies."

"This writing," TeeJay pointed at the scribbling near the front end, "Have you guys discovered what it stands for?"

After a loud sigh, Professor Pandora explained, "That's the other mystery. We cannot match those symbols to any language that we know. English, Quarnak, nothing. Some of my colleagues believe that this is some kind of capsule. And that there's something inside of it."

The warrior gave a light snicker and began walking around the artifact when the lady asked, "What was that for?"

"Don't you find it kind of ironic that you, Pandora, have discovered something that appears to be a holding device? And that it is unknown throughout the galaxies?"

Laughing, she commented, "You're suggesting the Greek myth Pandora's box? Where a woman named Pandora was given a box, and when told not to open it, she still did? And when she did, she unleashed evil into the world, and that the only thing left in the box when she closed it was Hope? To which with the last of her strength she too released it into the world? Yes, but that's why they call it a myth. It's untrue."

"Perhaps…I just kind of think it's ironic," he smirked back.

The scientist tilted her head to one side, and began rushing out of the room, "Hey, I have an urgent call from one of my fellow colleagues. Wait for me when I get back. And don't touch anything. The material is very fragile, and could fall apart. And TeeJay, don't open it," she grinned widely before she ran out.

"And TeeJay, don't open it," he mocked after her, "So, I am going to be working with you for a while now huh?"

He walked around the contraption, and slid his fingers across its rough edges. It was five feet in length, and five feet in width.

'A perfect box…' he thought as he walked over to the end with the writings.

"Hmm, wait…I think I recognize this," he said out loud. Turning his head a hundred and eighty degrees, he narrowed his eyes and read the symbols, "The power to will. The power to hope. The power to wish. The power to dream!"

Suddenly, his crystal necklace began glowing an intense white light. A shot of pure ray stretched from his pocket. Confused, he reached down and pulled out the white feather that his mom had given him. It too was shimmering a powerful luminosity that had illuminated the entire room.

'What's going on,' the warrior thought as nervousness took a hold of him.

A swirling wind entered the area, causing papers to fly around and objects to fall and bump into one another. The artifact began to rumble a loud growl. The ground beneath shook furiously, causing TeeJay to struggle to stay standing up.

"The box!" he shouted, "it's…opening!" He took a few steps backward when the contraption opened its lid. Eyes wide open, he could only stand and watched as white lights flew from the box and began enveloping his body. The rumblings continued to grow worse and worse. In the midst of the chaos, the feather escaped his fingers and began floating around in the air. He stood still, following its path with his eyes.

As if guided by hidden hands, it broke free from the gust and landed inside the box. Seconds later, a burst of white light covered the entire space and blinded his sight.

He opened his eyes again, and saw that his necklace was hovering in front of him. He was enveloped within a wall of pure radiance. He was blinded once more by the bright glow.

He felt the coldness yet again. The same emptiness he had felt two times before. But this time, it felt even more real. The feelings of loneliness and sadness held his heart and body down.

As quickly as it had appeared, it then disappeared. He could smell burning amber next to him. He could hear the cracking of firewood. He could taste water in his mouth. He could feel the dirt beneath his fingers. He slowly opened his eyes, and could see the twinkling stars above him. Turning over, he saw an elder man sitting on a log next to a strange short creature. Their lips were moving, but he couldn't hear anything as he lapsed into sleep again.


	10. A Strange Encounter

Chapter 9: A Strange Encounter  
  
The star-filled sky echoed forth its radiance. Shadows caused by the flickering flame of the campfire danced amongst one another, playing hide and seek. The waves softly splashed against the small pebbles of the bay. Whirling wind roamed freely amid the darkened trees, creating strange yet melodic music. The animals chattered between themselves.  
  
High in the air hung two great moons. One was glowing an emerald green while the other was shimmering a sapphire blue. Their beautiful image was reflected by the lake, creating a mystic aura. Other than the light emitted by the fire and moons, there was nothing but darkness.  
  
The trees stood towering over all things. Their giant size ran straight in the sky, creating a haven for animals that chose not to be prey to the land dwellers. Thanks to the lake, the forest was kept at a comfortable temperature year round. Small pieces of amber flew forth from the firewood, quickly dissipating as it touched the soft dirt beneath.  
  
The teenage boy slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He noticed that other than the blanket that covered him, he was naked underneath.  
  
"Ah, so ye has finally woke up from ye slumber," the gray-beard man said.  
  
The earthling looked at the two strangers. His eyes traced the outline of the elder gentleman that was sitting on the log next to him. His hair was all but gray as well as that of his beard. Wrinkles ran across his face. He was wearing a long brown robe with a red cloak tied to his back. A long rusty staff lied next to him.  
  
The boy's eyes moved over to the man's companion, who was looking at him with strange eyes. He had never seen anything like it before in his life. The first thing he noticed was that it wasn't human. The thing was sitting comfortably on the log, but appeared to only be three feet in height.  
  
Clothed in strange clothing, it had a small tail hanging out of its back. It had ears shaped like wings and two big blue eyeballs and a small black nose. At the top of its head was a small black cap with a feather stuck in it. Its white furry skin swiveled back and forth as the wind blew pass it.  
  
"What are you looking at dodo?" it spoke with a slight hint of annoyance in its tone, "you should be thanking us for rescuing you from that lake."  
  
The elder man simply smiled and said, "Ah, don't be mad at him Titan. Don't mind the Daagin, he's just upset that ye chased away all the fish when ye landed right on top of us. Your clothing is being dried right now. My name is Nezard. Ye had us scared for a moment there young lad when ye stopped breathing. How are ye feeling?"  
  
The teenager looked with confused eyes at the two beings and stuttered out, "Where am I? Who are you guys? Who.am I?"  
  
The man and the Daagin sharply looked at one another and turned back to the kid. "Ye.do not know who ye are?" He asked in a caring and soothing voice.  
  
The boy lowered his head and cringed his eyes so hard that tears began flowing out. "No.I don't. I can't remember anything. Do you know who I am?"  
  
"Oh dear," the small creature said as it jumped off the log and began approaching the confused earthling and looked him in the eyes, "Nezard, I think he's telling the truth. He may have hit his head on a rock or something at the bottom of the lake. I think he might have amnesia."  
  
The gray-beard man turned away for a second as his eyes showed that he was in great contemplation. "That is unfortunate indeed," he remarked, "so ye do not remember anything?" He turned to look at the kid.  
  
He shook his head furiously, "No, I don't. The last thing I can remember was a light. A bright, white light. But other than that, nothing."  
  
With a soft sigh, Nezard leaned over and picked up a small cup. Giving it to the disoriented boy, he said, "Here, drink this. It'll relieve some of your ache."  
  
Turning over to the Daggin, he continued, "So what do ye think we should do Titan?"  
  
The small creature contemplated for a moment and then said, "I guess we should take him back to the Capital City of Angelus. Perhaps there you can find a way to restore his memory."  
  
"Angelus?" The traveler asked, "That.name.sounds.familiar."  
  
"Angelus," the old man began, "is the name of the northern kingdom that's situated in this world that we called Nirva."  
  
"Angelus.Nirva." the kid muttered under his breath, "none of these names sound familiar to me at all. How did I even get here?"  
  
Sensing the child's anxiety, Nezard smiled and spoke in a soothing voice, "Ye came to us from the stars. Titan and I were fishing in the middle of the lake when we saw a shooting star streaking across the sky. It was the most beautiful thing in the world. As soon as it had passed over our, we heard a splash next to our boat and saw you sinking. This creature here," the elder tilted his head over, "jumped in and saved you."  
  
"Hey! I have a name you know!" Titan said fitfully as it eyed the old man in an evil way.  
  
Turning over to the Daagin, the star child said in a thankful tone, "Thanks for saving me."  
  
Nodding its small head, it patted the boy on his knees, "Don't worry, we'll find a way to restore your memory. Memories are the most important thing in everyone's life. It is what makes us, us."  
  
"Yes, but enough of this talk. I'm sure our friend is tired from his ordeal. Probably hungry as well. Here, we'd managed to catch some fish for ye to eat." Nezard handed over a fried fish on a stick.  
  
"Thanks," the traveler uttered in a sad tone, "I'm sorry if I disturb you on your fishing. Is that why you'll were out here?"  
  
"Aye," the elder gentleman said, "every year, in the weeks before the Goddess Althura Festival, we come out here to this spot of ours and relax. Sometimes we fish, but other times we just like to watch the stars."  
  
"Speak for yourself human," Titan said as it chewed on the fish, "I'm here for the fish. They're so good. Especially if you put my secret recipe on it. Want some?" It asked the kid, who nodded his head.  
  
The creature dug through its small backpack and pulled out a small vial. It poured the orange liquid over the fish and quickly stored it back. "Okay, try it."  
  
The estranged human took a big bite from the fish and began chewing. Seconds later, tears started dripping from his eyes. Saliva dripped from his mouth as his cheek turned into a passion red. He could feel his mouth burning like it was an oven. With a disgusted face, he turned over and coughed up the piece he had just eaten.  
  
Both the elder man and the Daagin burst into a roaring laughter. While still laughing, Nezard reached over and gave the boy a canteen of water, which he grabbed and drank like it was the last drop of water in the world.  
  
"Oh my God, what is that? It's the spiciest thing I have ever tasted," he shouted out loud as he gulfed down some more water.  
  
"Haha, my apology. I forgot that the sauce wasn't meant for a human tongue," it laughed as it continued on eating its dinner.  
  
Still feeling the agony of the spice, he too began laughing at his own misfortune. Their laughter echoed forth from the campfire and soon other wild creatures joined in on the fest.  
  
"Ah, I haven't laughed that hard since forever," the gray-beard man said as he wiped away the tears from his eyes.  
  
"Nezard, what's the Goddess Althura Festival?" The boy asked as he picked the bones from the fish. "It is a festival held at the beginning of every year to celebrate the new seasons. The Goddess Althura is the goddess over all the people of Nirva. She was the one that gave us life and even today watches over us. When she is pleased at us, she gives us fruitful harvest, and when she is mad at us, she will cause nature to spite our sins," Nezard explained as he looked up at the stars. In his mind he knew there were more it then that.  
  
"Oh, so how is it celebrated? The festival I mean."  
  
The Daagin took a sip of his water and clarified, "There are different ways to celebrate the oncoming New Year. It all depends on what kingdom you're in."  
  
"Kingdom?"  
  
Sensing the boy's confusion, the creature kept on going, "There are six kingdoms in Nirva. All of the kingdoms surround that lake right there, which we call Evernescent Lake," it pointed to the silent water, "right now we're in the Kingdom of Angelus. We're at the topmost point."  
  
"So that lake is the center of this world?"  
  
"Aye young one," Nezard interrupted in, "Evernescent Lake lies in the middle of everything."  
  
And so, the three companions continued on with their dinner in the midst of the chatters between the forest creatures.  
  
Suddenly, the small winged-ear creature spurted out loud, "Hey Nezard, we can't keep our friend nameless forever. We need to give him a name."  
  
"Aye, he needs a name. Hmm.how about Abel? Tis is the ancient word for child of the stars."  
  
"I don't like it, it sounds too old and ugly," Titan said with a wry grin.  
  
"Well, it only sounds too old and ugly to creatures of non intelligence." The old man retorted back.  
  
"Hey! Want me to 'abel' your butt right now?" It jumped on its feet and pulled out a small dagger.  
  
"Bring it on you little mistake of nature," gray-beard man shouted as he quickly grabbed his staff.  
  
"Guys.it's fine. Abel's fine. It's only a name right? The name doesn't make the person," Abel said as he threw away the bones.  
  
"See, he likes it!" Nezard smiled triumphantly.  
  
"Bah, if he has his memory, he'd probably hate it. Oh, hey Abel, do you know how to fight?"  
  
".Fight?" The green and blue eye kid responded with a confused look.  
  
"In order to get to the Capital City of Angelus, we'll have to pass through the Gloom Forest. There are monsters that roam the wood at night and bandits that attack merchants in the morning. The road doesn't really become safe until we're well within the sphere of protection provided by the city," Titan explained as it looked at the teenager with its bluish eyes.  
  
Returning from his departure, Nezard tossed a scabbard into the teen's lap and said, "That's my favorite sword. It was a gift from a long time friend."  
  
Abel pulled on the hilt of the sword to reveal the sapphire tone glowing from the metal. Suddenly, an image sprung before his eyes as he was holding a different sword but of the same color.  
  
"Are ye okay?" The elder man asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm okay," he muttered, "this sword is beautiful. How does it have the blue tone to it?"  
  
"That's a secret young one," Nezard laughed, "It is called Nexstar. It is fifty-five inches in length, three inches in width, and once three-quarter of an inch in thickness. Made from a family tradition by my friend, it is light yet strong. It is flexible yet durable. Ye can borrow it until we get to the city. Do ye know how to use a sword?"  
  
"I.do not know," Abel replied slowly as he stood up and began swinging the weapon back and forth.  
  
"Well, why don't ye show me what ye does know," the old man said as he picked up his wooden staff. Reaching at the hilt, he suddenly pulled out a metallic sword that was hidden within the brown wood.  
  
Titan backed away from the two fighters, picking a log in the middle of the bout as his seating. Reaching for a fish, he began nibbling on the meat as his stomach raced with excitement.  
  
"Don't go easy on me Abel, as I will not go easy on ye. Let's see if ye can fight, eh?" Nezard laughed as he took off his cloak and threw it aside. Lowering the blade to his side, he narrowed his eyes in intense concentration.  
  
Confused as to what he should do, Abel could only follow suit as he dug his left foot into the ground and raised his sword in front of him.  
  
The campfire burned brightly into the darkened sky. Their shadows danced among the woods while sounds of waves splashing against the small pebbles resonated between the trees. High above, the stars shone brightly as the twin moons cast their aura down into the world below. 


	11. The Race from Danger

**Chapter 10: The Race from Danger**

The water softly splashed against the small pebbles on the bay. Other than the cracking of the firewood, the only other audible sound was the crashing of the gentle waves of the lake. High in the heaven, the twin moons cast their light down toward the land below. The wind blew silently, lifting the cool air of the water and scattering it over the ground nearby.

The two humans stood with their swords on their side. Nexstar shone brightly in its blue hue while Nezard's silver blade reflected the light of the moons.

The elder man made the first attack, swiftly running forward and slashing with his weapon.

Raising his sword up to parry, Abel cringed his eyes in concentration while thinking, 'Wow, he's fast for an old guys. How did I just do that, blocking his attack?'

"Good job young one," Nezard commented before performing a one-hundred and eighty degree and striking at the teenager's leg with his staff's exterior, to which the blue and green eye human hurriedly deflected while pushing away his attacker.

"Attack! Stop defending yourself!" The gray-beard man shouted as he plunged his blade straight forward.

Grunting, Abel pushed himself off the ground and jumped over the advancing enemy and managed to slice across his foe's robe.

Without even showing a hint of being in pain, Nezard only turned around and smiled when he saw his brown cloth reddening in blood.

"Not bad," he chuckled, "not bad at all." Grinning, the old human shifted his weight to his back foot and charged forward. In the midst of the night, sounds of swords striking one another roared through the wood. Slashing his blade left and right, Nezard continued on with his advancement while the sweating Abel could only parry and deflect the attacks of his amazingly fast opponent. Up above, dark rain clouds began moving in, blocking the light-giving twin moons.

As he was backing up and protecting himself, the traveler from Earth knocked his foot over the campfire. Trying to save himself from falling and defeat, he managed to stable his body but kicked over the water canteen in the process. The fluid quickly spread over the radiating amber, and soon darkness fell over the camp.

"We go on," he could hear the stern voice of his attacker as he tried to look pass the shield of blackness. Using his blade as the final source of light, he could do nothing but block the untiring assault of his rival.

In the midst of the gloom, sparks of swords crashing against one another appeared in different places. Each sparks shred its light quickly, revealing the sweaty face of the fighters, but died out in seconds past. Sounds of heavy grunting and of feet striking the gentle ground resonated throughout the forest and into the Daagin's eyes.

Hurrying back and forth, it tried to replace the wet woods with new ones. Although its eyes allowed it to see night as clear as day, it knew that its new friend couldn't do the same, and without light, there's no sight, and without sight in a fight, one cannot win.

Breathing heavily, Abel continued deflecting the attacks in the dark as his mind raced with doubts, 'how am I doing this? Was I…a fighter? How am I not defeated yet…' Suddenly, he could feel that he was backing into a large tree. Out of desperation, an idea entered his mind. As he maintained his path backward, he could feel the sweat dripping down his face and forehead. At the first sense of the tree's rough bark on his back, he quickly ducked and when the sound of steel hitting against wood vibrated into his ears, he knew that his opponent had fell for the trick.

Gripping hard onto Nexstar's handle and screaming, he thrust his sword forward just as the campfire majestically came back to life, and stopped only inches away from Nezard's drenched neck.

Titan could only look in disbelief. 'The kid did it! Wow, I can't believe he just defeated Nezard,' it thought before clapping and shouting, "Bravo! Bravo!"

The elder human only smiled and removed his blade from the tree and quickly hid it away in his wooden staff. "Well," he laughed, "I guess your amnesia didn't affect your fighting ability after all."

Returning the grin, Abel nodded and collapsed onto the welcoming ground as fatigue took over him.

Slowly opening his eyelids, his eyes twinge in pain from the intense light. As they adjusted to the brightness, the blurred objects from far away became clearer, and he could see the towering great brown trees with glittering green leaves.

The brilliant yellow sun burned brightly on the western horizon as it crept over the tiny line that divided the heaven from the land beneath. The clouds from the night before had all but disappeared, leaving a clear blue sky in its wake. The light from the burning ball danced with the waves of the lake, creating the illusion of hundreds of mirrors floating on top of the water.

The cool wind was still there though. He could feel it caressing against his face. It was a soothing feeling. Looking up, the same wind was tearing away the fragile leaves from its life giver. One of it easily broke away and began drifting down toward the land. It took its time, but landed on top of Abel's body. He grabbed it and brought it up to his eyes so he could examine it.

Its shape was familiar to the leaves his remembered from his unknown past. Where he had seen it before, he did not know, but he could tell that it almost the same. Its bright green texture was filled with life. Tossing the leaf aside, he continued on with his admiration of the gigantic trees.

And indeed they were enormous. Standing over hundreds of feet tall and thirteen feet wide, their massive network of leaves blocked away almost all light in the canopy, saved for a few that had managed to filter through. These giants populated the entire forest, running in rows and columns of one another. Their dark brown barks showed their age and their life. Some had black indents on them, hinting that there was a fire in the past. Light green vines ran from the base of trees and circle their way up to the top. At the very bottom small insects and plants devoured the giants that had outlived its fate, and in the dead ground rose new life to take the place of the fallen ones.

Suddenly, a sharp piercing growl caused Abel to wake from his examinations of the trees. He stared at the two pure white creatures that stood in front of him, about six feet high, and three feet wide. He gazed at one of it with intent eyes, trying to see if the animal was an enemy or not. The thing looked familiar to a cat he remembered from somewhere, but didn't recollect that a cat could be that big. Running down from its ashen body were four great legs that were almost as big as some of the branches in jungle. At the bottom of the legs were fluffy paws that hid the razor sharp talons. Around its neck were three golden spots. Long whiskers ran from its black nose. At the back, it had a lengthy white tail that softly swiveled back and forth over the sand. He scanned around to see that neither Nezard nor Titan was around. As if out of instinct, he grabbed the crystal that hung around his neck, but quickly questioned why he just did that.

Seeing that he was weaponless, he looked around to see what he could use as a weapon. He hurriedly grabbed a small branch next to him and slowly got on his feet. The creature was staring straight at him. It was digging at the ground with its claws while its butt kept on hitting the soft dirt and bringing up small bugs. Abel crawled at a snail pace, hoping that he would not alert the animal. When he was near the front, he could see a big black hole, which he concluded was the thing's mouth, and the other opening above it was its eye.

Little by little, he pushed the stick forward and into the big cat's eye when it suddenly jumped high in the sky and began crying out in pain. Its butt turned around and appeared to be looking at the human with the two blue spots on the side of its bottom. Its companion also turned to look at the Earthling with maddened eyes.

Fluttering its ear-wings, Titan appeared from the dense wood and landed in front of the green and blue eyed teenager while shouting, "What did you do Abel?"

"I don't know," he shouted back, "I just poked it in its eyes to see if it was friendly or not."

The white creature appeared to have calmed down when the Daagin began feeding it scraps of red meat.

The humongous alien spoke again and suddenly, Titan burst into a roaring laughter as he collapsed onto the ground. Confused, the Earthling could only watch as the small little creature wiped away the tears in his eyes.

"You didn't poke it in the eye Abel," the Daagin continued to laugh softly, "You prodded Triger in the butt!"

Abel tried to hold back his laughter, but he couldn't. The situation was too funny to keep a straight face as he smiled and sat on one of the logs.

"Triger? Is that its name? What about the other one?" He asked as he shook his head with a bright grin on his face.

"Yeah, the one you poked was Triger, and its friend is Trigan. They're both Trilians," Titan replied as it threw a nut at the thing's feet which ate it up and gave a delightful response.

"What's a Trilian?" The human asked as he looked at the two giant beasts with admiration.

The small Daagin sighed as it patted the teenager on the shoulder and said, "Nezard and I have a lot of work to do don't we? Well, to get started, Trilian is an animal of Nirva. It is our transportation, other than the sky ships. They come in different color and size, but the most common one is a yellow one."

"Oh, so Triger's color is not common?"

"Yeah. It's actually one of the rarer types of Trilians. Not many are left since they were hunted to almost extinction." Titan explained with a hint of sadness in his tone.

"Why was that?"

"Their furs were used on clothing, and their meet was a delicacy. I can't ever think of eating such a nice and gently being like the Trilians. It's just not right, you know?"

"Are you guys related? Like the Daagins and the Trilians?"

"We're distant cousins. Distant, distant cousins! And anyway, Daagins are better than Trilians," Titan said with a proud face when it was struck on the head by Triger's paw.

"Hey! That hurt you dumb thing! Don't you ever strike me or I'll sell you to the next highest bidder!" The Daagin shouted as it pointed its finger at the giant cat.

The white animal gave a light growl, lifted its head and proudly turned its back on the small creature.

"What did it say?" Abel asked as he was curious in the fight.

"It said that it belongs to Nezard, not me. Ah, stupid cat. We'll see who gets the last laugh," Titan answered as it gave an evil grin.

"Hey, where's Nezard?"

"Oh, he should be around here somewhere. Don't worry, he'll be fine. He'd been through a lot worse than getting lost in a wood."

"Hey Titan, are Daagins human?"

"Human?! Never! Humans are dirty. Why would we be like them?"

"I don't know, I was just curious. If you're not human, then what are you?"

"We're a different race of our own. I guess our closest cousin would be the Dragins back during the Chaos War." Titan said as it handed some nuts to the human teenager.

"Chaos War?" Abel asked while taking the seeds and began eating them.

Sighing once again, it said, "That's a lengthy tale. If you really want to know, ask Nezard. He can tell you more. But to make a long story short, a thousand years ago, a being called Chaos created Dragins, enormous beasts that were as large as these trees here, to supply his air force. Their sharp talons could destroy an entire battalion with a single swipe, and their devastating fire breath could annihilate a medium size town."

"Wow," the Earthling said in a curious tone, "what happened next?"

Titan continued on, "Well, after the war was over, and Chaos lost, the Dragins were free from their master's control, so they began roaming the world of Nirva, doing as they please. When the people cried out for compassion, the Goddess Althura took mercy and decided to change the Dragins. She took half of them and turned them into Trilians and for their sins was made to obey the Nirvans. The other half she took and transformed them into Daagins. Because we were shunned by all the other races of Nirva, we had to leave the fertile valley and land and had to relocate to the high mountains east of here. Or so that's how it all happened. It's been over two thousand years, and the line between facts and fictions was erased. That was the story my father told to me when I was little."

"Hmm, that's a lot of information to take all in at one time," Abel commented as he got up from the log and began stretching his aching muscles.

"Yeah. If you're really interested, just ask Nezard once we reach Angelus. He'll tell you more."

"Speaking of Nezard, where is he? He's still not back yet."

"I'm right here young one," the elder man said as he appeared from the dense forest. "Did ye miss me?"

"Where'd you go?" the Earthling asked with curious eyes.

"Ah, I went to pick up some herbs to mix for ye to drink. Here," the gray-beard human gave a small cup to his human companion, "drink it. It'll help relieve the pain in ye muscles. My apologies. I should have known that ye were still too tired to fight me."

Grinning, Titan remarked lightly, "Tired or not, he still defeated you. Where did you learn to fight like that Abel?

"I…don't know. I just…knew…I think…" the green and blue eye teenager responded as the realization of his amnesia entered his mind again.

Sensing the youth's sadness, Nezard said in an elated tone, "no matter. Ye have proved that ye can handle the worst of what this forest could bring to ye. And from the cry that I heard not too long ago, I suspect ye have met Triger." The old man grinned at the wry sense of humor. "Come here Triger, I want ye to meet a new friend."

The white cat slowly rose from lying down and approached the three companions. "Say hi," the elder human spoke as he nodded toward Abel.

"Are you sure it's not mad at me because of the earlier…incident?"

"What incident?" The gray-beard man asked as if he didn't know.

"Never mind," Abel quickly responded as he slowly reached toward the creature's mouth, which was embraced by six long whiskeys, three on each side, which extended outward and curl along the way.

As his fingers came within centimeters of the being's mouth, it suddenly jumped up and began roaring so loud that the leaves in nearby trees were shaken free and began tumbling toward the earth.

At the sight of the massive cat high above him, the Earthling jumped backward as he fell on his butt. Both Nezard and Titan tried to hold back their laughter but it was to no avail. They both erupted into melodious laughter as the old man helped the embarrassed teenager onto his feet.

"Triger likes ye Abel. Go ahead, try it again. It won't bite, I promise."

Gathering all of his nerves, he slowly approached the creature and once again reached out his hands. But this time, instead of jumping up and down, the Trilian lowered its head below the teen's hand and began rubbing against it with a smile on its face.

"See, I told ye Triger likes ye. Well, why don't we sit down and talk for a second eh young one? I'd manage to find us some food, so lets let the Daagin prepare our breakfast as I tell ye the plan" said Nezard in an eager tone.

"You want to let me do all the work? Titan doesn't know why he's still around Nezard." Said the angry small thing.

Laughing, the elder man said, "I'm sorry. Ye do all the work because ye could cook better than I could. Remember the last time I try to cook us some grub and how I burned the whole thing and we had to starve that night."

Titan could only shake its head as it began flying back and forth using its winged ears preparing the breakfast.

"Now, while it is busy attending to our food, I would like to discuss with ye our plan. The trip to the Capital City of Angelus would take around a day and a half. The entire first day we will take Carnage Road, which would lead us through the Gloom Forest, and into the village of Ipsen on the inner province. From there, we will spend the night, and the following day we will head to the city.

"Nezard…why am I getting a feeling there is going to be a 'but' somewhere?" Abel commented as the smell of the cooking food entered his nostrils. The wind continued to blow softly across the land, causing the Earthling's hair to swivel back and forth.

"Well, the day long trip to Ipsen won't be easy. We'll have to leave pretty soon if we want to reach the safety of the village before nightfall."

"Why? What happens after nightfall?"

The elder man turned and looked into the glamorous wood, "There are things in this world of ours Abel that ye do not need to know about, for they are too gruesome to tell of and too sad to describe."

"Well, thanks for the description. That helped a lot!" The blue and green eyed human said in sarcasm.

"There are also bandits that roam the road during midday. But, in case things turn to worst, just stick by Titan and myself. The little creature may look defenseless, but it is quite a formidable fighter."

"Little? Speak for yourself," the Daagin said as he poured in some unknown sauce in the cooking bread.

"What will we do when we get to the city?" Abel inquired as he nibbled on the nuts that were previously given to him.

"We will find a way to get ye memory back. I'm certain there's a book at the main library to reverse the effect," Nezard answer in a soothing voice.

"And what if there isn't any way?"

"Then the best thing ye can do is let time do its work. I am sure that even if we do not find a way, you will regain back ye memories as the time passes."

The teenager lowered his head as if he was contemplating over the thought of forever losing his memory. Sensing the sadness, the elder man patted the boy's leg and said in a fatherly tone, "Don't worry, we'll get it back. But in the meantime, let us fill our belly with food aye? Titan has finished his job, and now it is time for us to do ours, which is to eat it."

And so, the three companions ate their breakfast and without a sense of urgency, they packed their belongings and head out for the Carnage Road. As he rose from his seat, Abel quickly thought of something and turned to his friends, "Umm, guys, there's one problem. I don't know how to ride a Trilian."

"Oh, it's not that hard," Titan reassured the kid, "Triger is trained to be ridden by anyone. All you need to do is just sit on his back, and hold onto its fur."

Nodding, he slowly approached the giant cat as his heart began to pick up in speed. Sweat rolled down his forehead as the cool wind blew past his hot body. Closing his eyes and praying, he curled his legs and sprung onto the animal. When he opened them again, he could see the others getting on the other Trilian and Triger smiling at him with its big blue eyes.

"Hi," he said weakly as he waved his hand.

It roared back in response as it began jumping up and down.

"Whoa, calm down, you're making me nervous."

Nezard jumped onto the other Trilian as Titan flew behind him. Putting on a gray hat, the elder human threw Nexstar into the teenager's lap said with a smile, "ready?"

Abel nodded, and so, the three friends rode off from their camping spot on their animal and after a while of riding through the twisting path of the forest, they arrived on the hardened path of Carnage Road.

Even with all its terrible name and gruesome reputation, Carnage Road was one of the most beautiful paths to travel on. Perhaps that was why so many humans had risked their lives. Perhaps it was the beauty of way that had enchanted them. For a road with such a hideous reputation and malicious dangers, it shone with beauty

Abel had arrived during the season when the leaves began falling from the trees, as if forever waving goodbye to the life that had supported them.

On both side of the road stood majestic and beautiful trees. They were the same size as the one by the campground, but unlike the ones that were they, the ones on the path had different color leaves. Some had purple, while others had green. Some had orange, while others had white. As the three companions traveled up the road, these beautiful leaves fell over them, creating an array of colors that for that single moment, made the troubles of the world invisible.

Beautiful flowers of various insignias grew at the base of each tree while green vines curled around them, sprouting white flowers in the process. The rising sun was to their left, and as it rose, its ray was refracted by the morning dew that had collected on the leaves. As these previous servants of the towering giants fell toward the land beneath, the water that had stuck to them glittered in the light.

Abel could only look up in amazement as he could see thousands of glittering objects falling from the heaven. His mouth opened in wonder as the hair on his arms grew in appreciation. Never before had he seen anything so beautiful. Against the backdrop of the blue sky, it appeared to almost be that the stars were crying.

That moment of bliss had lasted for only a short moment. Gently walking, Triger, like the human teenager, marveled at the beauty that had surrounded them. But it was an experienced Trilian, and during the duration of their trip, it had been listening to any abnormal sound. And then it happened. Perking its ears up, it could hear the echoes of thundering objects striking the ground at a thousand paces. With advent eyes, Triger locked his legs and instantly began sprinting

Abel shouted in a shock voice, "Hey! What's going on? Why is Triger sprinting?"

Nezard yelled back as his beard danced in the rushing wind, "I believe it had sensed our enemies. Oh my, all this danger is sparking this old fool blood back into action. This is fun is it not? It has been a long while since this old fool has had his heart pumping as fast as it did today," the elder human laughed loudly with the Daagin barely hanging onto his robe.

'You have got to be kidding me. We are in danger of dying, and this old fool is laughing and is enjoying every minute of it,' Abel thought as he turned around to see nothing behind him.

He hollered back again, "How is it that it could sense our enemy? I can't hear or see anything"

"Don't ye know young one? Trilian's senses are twenty times more powerful than that of human. And ye forget, I raised and trained this Triger myself, so ye could say it's a special one. Oh my, isn't this exciting." The excited old man replied back as he tried to hold onto the gray hat on his head as his cloak danced behind his back.

Abel's heart began to race as he turned around to look at the invisible face. The oncoming wind pushed back the strings of hair on his head as his breathing became heavier and heavier. The heavy sword that was Nexstar hung by his side as he held onto the Trilian's fur with all of his might.

The beauty of his surrounding began to dissipate as Triger increased its speed. All Abel could see were just flashes of images. Sprinting with full maximum power, the cat, like Nezard, felt its blood reviving after a long absence of adventures. Even at that speed, it somehow had managed to avoid the obstacle on the road that could trip it. After a few minutes of dashing at full speed, it took one second to look ahead up on the road. When it took its eyes off the road beneath him, it missed the small branch that was quickly approaching.

Without realizing it, the Earthling flew halfway into air and landed with a hard thump on the ground. Slowly getting up, his dazed eyes could see the animal in the distance, slowly rising from its feet too. Suddenly, nervousness enveloped him when he couldn't see Nezard anywhere. Looking ahead on the road, he saw a Trilian running back. While waving his left arm, he ran over to Triger to help it get up.

As the giant bird stood up on its feet, the blue and green eyed human heard a mirage voice that seemed to penetrate the forest itself, "I must go. Triger will know what to do. Stick with it and you'll be fine."

Blood poured down from the scratches on his body as his vision was blurred by the sweat that was drifting from his forehead.

'Great,' he thought in desperation, 'I'm left in the center of a road in the central of a kingdom in the middle of world in which I know nothing about. And I don't even know who I am. This is great…just great.'

Just as doubts began to spread throughout his body, the instinct of survival overwhelmed all hesitations.

'I may not know who or where I am. But I do know I am going to live long enough to find out.' He thought as he jumped onto the creature's back.

"Come on Triger," he shouted out loud, "we're not giving up just yet. I won't die in a forest. Never! Now, let's go!"

Inspired by the young teenager's courage, the white beast nodded its head and gave a loud roar before it resumed its flight from danger.

Behind them, the sounds of hundreds of claws roared throughout the peaceful forest. Clouds of dust covered the oncoming threat as the once peaceful forest suddenly became a fight for survival. The ground rumbled in pain, causing the leaves to fall from their master faster and faster. Hunched over the Trilian, Abel looked up to see the thousands of sparkling leaves falling from the heaven and smiled.


	12. Suprised Encounter

**Chapter 11: Surprise Encounter**

High in the sky, the sun shone vibrantly upon the land below. The cerulean heaven hung heavily above the dense forest that ran beneath. Flocks of birds flew through the air while the world passed slowly under them.

The trees were just blurry spots in his vision now. Abel couldn't remember how long they had been running. His only thought was that whatever it was that was chasing them was slowly catching up. His fingers held tightly onto Triger's fur while the wind caressed his face and hair. Sweat had been dripping from his forehead but they were quickly sucked up by the burning heat. His breathing was fast and deep; his heart was beating as fast as Triger's speed.

He could sense that the animal was tired. The Trilian had to carry his weight and its own while traversing through the forest, always careful not to trip on the small obstacles that would arise in the road. But even if the beast was fatigued, it didn't show it. It kept its head high and its ears wild as it dashed through the wood.

'I wonder if we'll make it,' Abel thought silently to himself. He looked back and noticed that the gigantic cloud of dust was getting closer and closer.

'Don't be afraid,' said a new voice in his head.

'Who's that? Who are you?' the human pondered as he looked left and right to find the source of the voice.

'It's me, Triger.'

'But how? How can you talk to me telepathically?'

'It is a rare gift that we Trilians have. We are able to communicate to our rider without speaking out loud. It is more advantageous this way.' Triger explained in a deep tone that echoed throughout Abel's mind.

'Can you…' just as the Earthling was beginning to speak, arrows were shot at the speeding duo.

'They're firing arrows at us!' the human said with an air of urgency and fear in his voice.

'Hold on Abel. I am going to try and lose them by running through the wood.'

"But you're too big!" The boy shouted out loud as he held onto the creature's fur as if his life depended on it.

With a shift in its weight, the cat-like beast swiftly changed direction and began dashing through the forest. Jumping over fallen logs and dodging between the long-lived trees, the animal carefully juggle two important tasks at the same time. It had to make sure that the ride would not be rough enough on the rider so that he would fall of as well as making sure that the path was clear to run through.

The human looked up to see the sun quickly passing through the trees. As they spend in a hurry through the wood, he took his eyes off the branches for a second and paid dearly for it as an unseen twig tore across his face and left a long mark on his right cheek. Twitching from the pain, he touched the opening with his fingers and felt the blood slowly pouring out. Ignoring the pain, he looked back and couldn't see the cloud anymore.

'Triger, I think we lost them.' He thought aloud in his mind.

'That's good, because we're going to be back on the path to Ipsen in a second or two.'

The two sprung out from the forest and stopped in the middle of the dirt road. Both looked back to see if they were being followed any longer. The creature was breathing heavily from mouth; its tongue was hanging out to help cool down its body. Sweat continued to drip from the boy's forehead. Giving a sigh of relief, the two slowly turned around when Abel felt a large pain on his stomach and flew back onto the ground.

Triger quickly ran to the fallen boy and crouched in a protective fashion over him as it bared its long fangs at the figures in front of it. Groaning from the pain, Abel slowly rose from the ground and tried to shake the dizziness away. Leaves and dirt fell from his hair as he looked up to see the cause of his pain.

Standing in front the duo were five, large brown horses. They uneasily stomp their hoofs onto the ground. Their eyes showed their fear of the Trilian and its fangs and talons. The only thing protecting them from the ancient beast were their five riders sitting atop of them. The figures were wearing a dark green cloak that extended all the way to the horses' knees. Their hood shielded everything but the mouth. Each one was carrying a bow on their back and next to their waist was a scabbard except for one. The one without a sword was wielding a long, black staff.

Abel's eyes narrowed when he saw the one with the stick. All five were wearing similar leather vest body armor. Their legs too were protected by the same material. When the wind swept through the road, the cloaks danced eagerly in the air and at the back of these cloaks was a picture of a shield. On one half of the shield was a long mountain range with an eagle above it and a sun setting in the east. On the other half was an ocean with a dove flying above while the sun was rising in the west.

Abel slowly stood up from the ground and as he began to make a notion of drawing his sword, the rider in the middle said behind his hood, "I wouldn't do that if I was you."

"Too bad you're not me, or you would have been good looking enough to not hide your ugliness behind your hood," the Earthling grinned as he stood next the growling Triger with his sword removed.

The one wielding the black staff turned over and whispered into the middle rider's ear, "That is Nexstar sir."

Judging by the way one of them referred to the other as sir, Abel presumed that the one who threatened him was the leader of the group.

"Listen kid, if you want to live, give us that sword, and we'll let you and your animal go in peace," the middle one said in a more threatening tone.

The Earthling made no hints of giving up his weapon as he dug his foot into the soft ground.

"Captain, couldn't we just shoot him? Then we could kill the Trilian and eat it tonight for dinner. I heard their meat is really good," commented the rider on the far left, to which the others began nodding and silently conversing amongst themselves.

"I am only going to give you one more chance. Give us the sword now, or die!" The leader said in anger over the boy's stubbornness.

Although fear was beginning to take over his heart, something was holding Abel back from giving away his weapon. Sweat rolled down his face, but a new feeling has overtaken him. It wasn't that of panic, but of excitement. Grinning, he jumped onto Triger's back. As soon as its master was on safely, the beast swiftly charged at the unsuspected group of men and leaped over their head, knocking over their hoods.

'You're right Triger, this telepathic thing is a good ability,' Abel smiled as he looked back to see the emotionless face of the five men.

"Eldan," the captain motioned his finger at the person next to him.

"I'm on it," the blonde hair, blue-eyed man named Eldan said as he quickly removed his bow and drew back the arrow. Seconds later, the shaft sped readily through the air and struck the Earthling on the shoulder. A painful scream made its way back to the ears of the riders.

"Couldn't you have hit him in the head Eldan?" Complained the same one from the far left.

"Come on, we're wasting time. It's almost getting dark. Let's get the sword and get out of here," said the leader sharply as he nudged his horse toward the fallen boy.

A sharp, stinging feeling ran up and down his arm as Abel slowly pushed his legs together and stood up. Looking at his wound on his left shoulder, he could already see the blood beginning to pour out. A sense of dizziness overtook him. His vision wavered as he stumbled back and forth. The ground beneath him shook violently as the five riders approached with weapons ready.

Even with the ill-looking wound, he still was able to draw enough strength to unsheathe Nexstar and he held it in front of him. When the sun struck the brilliant blade, thousands of tiny fragments of light exploded outward, sending shards of blue light droplet into the nearby trees. As the riders rode up on their horses, some exclaimed at the boy's strength of being able to hold a weapon after injury had been done to the shoulder of his left arm, the same arm he was holding the sword with.

Instinctively Triger ran in front of his master and snarl an ever so gruesome sound that the horses were once again reminded of who was the master of the wood. Its tail swooshed to and there, sending light clouds of dust in the air. Its eyes narrowed while its fangs were exposed. Its white body shone vibrantly when the sun's rays struck it.

"Captain?" Said the man with the big staff. His face was round and mannerly textured. His bushy, shadowy eyebrows gave him the complexion of a more naturedly human. His eyes were dark and his face bared the marks and scars of battles fought in the past. A cross-like earring hung from his ears. He had no hair on his head as it was seem to have been shaved bald. At the very top was a gigantic x mark scar that was given to him a long time ago. His age must have been no more than forty, but his eyes showed a wiser spirit. He was man of proportionate stature. His muscles seemed to bulge beneath the cloak that hid it. Even his horse seemed to have trouble at keeping its master afloat.

The leader of the riders slowly jumped off his horse and began approaching the wounded boy to just stop a few feet in front of the growling beast. Unlike the one with the staff, the Captain seemed to be no more than twenty some years of age. He was tall, at least six feet in height. His build was warrior-like; but he didn't seem to have as much muscle as his subordinate. He had big brown eyes and his face was almost kingly. Short, dark auburn hair embraced his head, moving softly in the unforeseen wind.

"My name is Tyro. The one behind me with the big staff is Ark. To his right is Plian. To my left is Eldan and next to him is his brother, Eldar. We are not murderers. The weapon you now hold in your hand is very important to us. Give us the sword, and we will bother you no more. But if you continue to refuse us, then we will have no choice but to take it by force." The Captain said in an almost compassionate voice.

Straining his eyes away from the wooziness, Abel shifted his vision from the one called Ark to the one next to him named Plian. He too was dexterously and muscular build like the rest of his riders. On his head was a black bandana with a skull engraved on it. His eyes were dark but deep. His nose was high but stout. His age too was about as young as his master. His dark hair was short and seemed to have been recently cut.

Moving over, the Earthling looked at the two brothers, Eldar and Eldan. Other than their different eye and hair color, the two looked almost exact alike. Instead of his brother's light, long blonde hair and fair blue eyes, Eldar's hair was short and messy brown, like that of his eyes. But, both appeared to be of the same age of around in the mid twenties. Their nose was short and flat. Eldar had a crystal object ear on his left ear while his brother has the same but only on the right.

With a dry grin, Abel pulled the arrow from his shoulder and bit down on the pain. Tears developed, but quickly dried away as he broke the arrow in half. "Like I said, if you want it, come and get it."

Moving with lightning speed, he dashed right pass the Captain and before the others could have withdrawn their blade, the Earthling leapt at Plian and in one quick move, he removed the black bandana and jumped back to Triger's side. With the same grin on his face, he tied the cloth around his wound and looked back at the riders, "Well, come and get it."

Ages seemed to have passed by before Plian had realized his bandana was stolen from him. Anger suddenly showed itself on his face as he swiftly removed his sword, "Why you little…"

But, with a raised hand from his leader, he slowly bit back his raged as he eyed Eldar and Eldan who was trying hard to hold back their laughter. Only Ark was not amused. His eyes were and had always been concentrated on the boy. Sweat rolled down his eyebrows as he patiently waited.

"I hope the Captain tear you a new hole!" Shouted the angry victim.

"If that's how you want it, then I will have no choice but to abide by it. But remember, I am now not in control of your life any longer," said Tyro as he removed his cloak and threw it back at his comrades. His slender fingers reached down and removed a fine metallic blade from its holder. Three red gemstones were etched into the hilt of the sword.

"No one said you ever were," Abel smirked as he felt his muscles bulging from the excitement. But behind his mask was a surprised soul. He did not know where his courage had come from. Moreover, deep down inside him, something shocked him even more. He was enjoying it. He was excited at the challenge. Whoever he was in the past before he had his amnesia, he could feel that that person was not afraid of a battle.

The four riders still on horseback nudged their horse backward. Triger did the same when it sensed the Earthling's hand on his head. Still precarious, it backtracked in steps but never took its eyes off the remaining four.

Abel held Nexstar out at his side, allowing the blade to catch the full brilliance of the sun. Thousands of tiny blue fragments of light danced in the ground beneath them and in the trees around them. Tyro did the same as the three ruby stone sent of its own majestic colors.

The wind suddenly began to pick up. Swirling gust of dust battered the warriors' body, but they stood still. The torrent wind ripped through the road, sending debris flying in all directions. The multi-color leaves of the forest were torn away from their life giver and were violently thrown in the air. Even the hardened riders could not hold back their astonishment at the beauty of the forest. Hundreds of foliage of all the color of the rainbow rained down from the heaven above, littering the battlefield with the ironic sense of peace. The deafening silence of the forest could be heard clearly when the wind died down to a small gale. The birds stopped chirping, and the animals stopped talking. Even the very sound of a bark breaking off was as loud as an explosion.

The two fighters stood still in the midst of the spectacle. Their eyes never left the others. Their fingers tightly gripped the handle of the blade. Their chest heavily pumped up and down. Their breathing became harder. The once black bandana on Abel's shoulder had deepened into a reddened cloth. But the blood stopped pouring out. His eyes showed of his weakened state, but he stood his ground. And then, the warriors charged at one another.

Both blue and silver sword struck one another in midair as sparks flew from the point of contact. The sound from their contact reverberated loudly through the wood, sending birds into the heavens and beasts deeper into their haven. The two tried to push on their blade but realized the other was just as strong.

"Any of you guys want to bet that the Captain would get him in, let's see, three moves?" Commented Plian as he looked on toward the others.

"I'll take that. I'll give the kid four turns," Eldar grinned as he placed a gold coin onto Plian's outstretched hand. Once the money was bet, all four returned their eyes toward the battlefield as the two enemies fought off the other's advancing attack.

With quick reflexes, Tyro withdrew his sword and spun his body, his blade trailing behind him and swung at Abel's body. The green and blue eyed human parried the assault, and countered with a quick left swing. The Captain ducked his body and performed a low roundhouse kick, tripping his opponent. As the boy fell onto the hard ground, Tyro stood up and swung his weapon over his head and down toward his adversary.

"See, now one more move and I win," Plian grinned as he began counting his victory.

Abel slammed hard onto the ground, which knock his wind out. But with a quick recovery, he saw the metallic blade coming down on him and was able to parry the attack as the dust was once again kicked up into the air by the commotion.

Again, sparks flew when the two swords collided with one another. Tyro stood over his fallen foe, with his blade press against Nexstar to form a cross, while the Earthling was lying on the ground with his own weapon protecting him from his maker. Sensing his advantage, the Captain called forth all his strength and pushed down with all his might at his steel. Pain shot throughout the boy's body as the wound on his shoulder became the centralized point of pressure. Screaming in agony, he realized that he must do something fast if he was going to survive the battle. He swiftly curled his legs and kicked his rival in the stomach, sending the foe stumbling backward.

With lightning reflexes, he jumped back onto his feet while Tyro reeled back in pain. With a quick smile, Abel made a sudden dash right at opponent, swinging from the ground toward the sky. When he saw that his attack was going to be parried, he followed his swing with a roundhouse kick using his left foot. The foot slammed right onto the Captain's jaw, sending saliva mixed with blood into the air. While his opponent was still dazed, the Earthling elbowed his foe right in the stomach, and kneed him again in the same spot, sending the pain-filled leader of the riders into the air and hard into the ground.

All three riders gasped in surprised as they watched their captain writhed in pain on the ground. All saved one. Ark sat silently, his eyes still fixed onto the boy.

"Well, I guess you're wrong Plian," Eldar said as he sat motionless on his saddle.

Tyro rolled across the dirt road, but was instantly up on his feet. He moved his finger over his mouth and looked to see that it was blood. His eyes narrowed at his opponent as rage spread over them.

He quickly dashed at his adversary while screaming with intense hatred. Once more, sparks flew as the two swords crashed against one another. He went on the offensive as he flung his sword towards the Earthling's left side, then again at his right side. Abel speedily countered with a swing over the head, to which the Captain turned while blocking the attack with his sword at his back.

After he parried, Tyro executed a low swing at Abel's foot, which the boy easily blocked. Expecting his short attack to be deflected, the auburn hair human returned a roundhouse kick with his own, but this time his left foot collided with the back of his enemy's head. With cat-like reflexes, he swung his blade at his foe's back but was parried in time by the dazed Earthling. Again, expecting his assault to be repelled, he ran towards his rival's side and with a three hundred and sixty degree spin, he slammed his elbow right onto the boy's face, sending blood gushing into the air from the victim's nose.

As Abel staggered back in pain, the Captain rushed up and kneed him in the stomach, sending him airborne. While the blue and green eye human was in the air, Tyro performed another roundhouse kick, this time onto the boy's stomach, sending him flying toward a tree.

"That should do it," Eldar said dryly, extending his hand at Plian whom dropped two gold coins onto his outstretched palm, "this battle's over."

A hard distinct sound of barks breaking and shattering into hundreds of pieces could be heard as Abel's wind was knocked out of him. Staggering up, he wiped the blood from his mouth, realizing his opponent is a skilled fighter

He snapped his neck back into place, and walked right back into the middle of the road. The pain was shooting from every part of his body now. His shoulder roared in agony while his nose bled profusely of red blood. His stomach was throbbing in anguish yet he was able to flash a smile as he leveled his sword at his right side. Tyro returned that smile and walked back into the middle of the road, only to level his sword at his left side.

"Not yet," Plian wryly grinned as he took back his gold coin, only to turn his eyes back onto the battlefield all the while gazing with admiration at the boy's strength.

The leaves from the tree that Abel crashed into began to fall. They fell with an ardent bright color in them, as if they had been waiting for the day to leave the tree. Now, the battlefield was not the dirt road anymore. The leaves had enveloped the road, leaving the two warriors to fight on dead leaves.

They both looked up, and reached out to grab a leaf. With a newborn respect for one another, they once again charged at each other, their sword at their side, their blood on the ground.


	13. Duel of Swords

**Chapter 12: Duel of Swords**

The wind swept furiously through the forest, sending hundred of leaves crashing into the air. A small cyclone of dirt and foliage traversed a slight distant away from the fight, sending a blinding wall of flora into the sky above, blocking out sunlight for an instantaneous moment.

The two warriors ran at one another, their blade poised for a fatal blow. The collision of their swords tremble the ground. Tyro took the initiative by lunging at Abel's body, but with a swift sidestep the Earthling dodged it. He countered the attack with a sideswipe at the Captain's body, but the blow was easily deflected.

They continued their relentless assault on one another. The green and blue eye human kicked his left foot, but was quickly countered by Tyro's left foot. Sensing an advantage, the leader of riders locked his ankle onto Abel's and pulled on it, forcing the Earthling to stretch his legs while falling to the ground

With a half smile, he tried to force his weapon onto his foe but was parried to the side. Abel aggressively tried to unlock his leg but was unable to free it. Using skills of unknown origin, he swung his legs in a windmill style, and landed on his stomach. He then used his immense strength to push himself into the air, performing a back flip in the process. Tyro, after regaining his balance, turned around toward his opponent and swung his sword sideway at his enemy's back. Sensing the attack, Abel swayed his blade over his head and barely blocked it.

Rapidly withdrawing of his sword, the green and blue eye human leapt onto one of the tree and stood on one of its branch. The Captain recovered from the riposte, and executed a back flip onto a tree's branch behind him.

The eerie silence of the forest spread onto the battleground. The labor breathing of the two fighters were deafening against the backdrop of the peaceful surrounding. The leaves continued to fall like snowflakes on a winter day. Pristine golden lights reflected off them, along with yellow and orange prism of spectral colors. The angry sun was sky high, blasting the land of Nirva with its anger. The dense flora and fauna of the Gloom Forest almost made the moment surreal, leaving some parts glowing with lights, while allowing others to shiver away in the shadows.

Not wasting any time, Abel jumping toward Tyro. The Captain saw the move and countered with his own. They collided in the center of the road, exchanging relentless rage. The Earthling swung at the leader of the rider's left side, but miss. His quick reflexes didn't allow his foe any time for a move, and in a fluid motion, he flung at his enemy's leg. Tyro eluded the assault by pushing Nexstar away from him, and countered with a quick swipe at the aggressive assailant's shoulder.

Off-balanced, Abel didn't have a chance to block, and suffered the consequences as blood slowly seeped through the cut skin. Ignoring the pain, he turned his body towards the Captain and kicked his foot right at the adversary's stomach. The Nirvan could not recover from his own move and left an opening. He quickly felt the rough impact of his rival's foot on his stomach. A gut-wrenching spasm readily spread throughout his body. The combatants flew in separated directions toward his opponent's original tree branch.

Both landed on their branch with a limp. Abel suffered a cut to the shoulder while Tyro had to endure the painful blow to his stomach. Without hesitation, the Earthling continued his attack by again leaping at the other tree. The Nirvan, a little dazed, joined him again in the middle of the road. Tired of using his sword, the leader of the riders tried to use his free left hand to punch at the green and blue eye human's face. Noticing the attack, Abel used his free right hand and grabbed his opponent's hand when it was just inches away from his own face

With bear-like strength, he pulled his enemy's hand toward his right side, causing the Nirvan to be off-balanced and leaning toward him. He saw the opportunity and kneed Tyro hard against the stomach. He followed that with an elbow on the spine. With a sharp, chilling cry, the Captain fell back to the ground. He hurriedly raised Nexstar above his head and drove it straight down at his opponent. The brown eyed human head collided with the dirt ground, and if it was anyone else, they would have fallen unconscious but Tyro's rigorous training had allowed him to endure the excruciating pain.

The reeling sting blasted across his bones and muscles. Turning his face to the sky, he saw Abel driving the blue blade down at him. Using what was left of his strength, he rolled to the side and pushed himself back toward a tree

He managed to avoid certain death by jumping back to a tree just as Nexstar easily cut into the soft ground. Without a second to waste, Abel withdrew his blade and dashed toward Tyro. He swung his sword again at his rival's body, but was reflected back. Realizing the enemy was still daze, he attempted to swing his weapon again, but this time coming from the opposite direction

The brown eye Nirvan immediately saw the aggression, and instead of blocking it, he ducked and placed his steel a few inches above his back. When Tyro ducked, the sapphire sword sliced through the tree that was behind him. The Earthling realized his error and hastily made a third attempt by swinging over his head down at the foe's back.

The great swords collided, erupting sparks into the air. An unlucky purple leaf caught one of the embers and burned up instantly. Abel pressed down his weapon with all his might when he heard a breaking sound. He looked up to see the tree he had just severed through was beginning to fall. The leader of the riders took that split second to withdraw his blade, causing more sparkles to fly as well as causing the green and blue eye human to jump back onto the road. Looking up to see the tilting mass of leaves and branches, he quickly rolled to the side and just as fast he was standing.

At first, there was only the creaking of wood and then a colossal blast penetrated the forest. They looked up to see the giant tree in the midst of tumbling to the ground. With a heavy burden and an immense weight, the tree struck the land with feverish might. Both of them leapt back to avoid the debris. A mammoth tremor shook the soil, generating a massive force that shivered the surrounding tall giants, causing them again to loose their majestic leaves.

Off in the distant, the other four riders sat on their restless steed. They quickly patted their horses to keep them from being scared. Their eyes were intently concentrated on the prolonged battle. The sun had passed overhead and was beginning the second half of its travel through the blue sky. One of them reached for their weapon when a giant hand stopped them. Ark shook his head and motioned at ever so alert Trilian.

Triger was waiting patiently. It was charged with the protection of its rider by Nezard. Protect him with all of your might said the old man. Throughout the battle, it had been intently watching. Not just the fight but the other four riders as well, always precarious if the others would join the match as well. It was ready to take on all four if it meant to secure its rider's life.

Abel dashed at the Captain, realizing that his adversary was still dazed and tired from his previous attack. The Nirvan, showing no sign of giving his ground, darted at the other fighter with a passionate emotion of hatred in his eyes. The Earthling, relax and compose, predicted that he was going to be attacked at his weak side. Just as he expected, Tyro came on the side of his injured shoulder, but he was prepared. He performed a forward front flip, and while his enemy was still faced the other way, Abel mustered all of his strength and smacked his left foot at the opponent's face.

The force of the blow caused the leader of the riders to spin in the air. The green and blue eye human ran with lightning speed to grab his foe's leg and kneed him in the stomach. But this time, the Earthling held onto the thigh and knocked the blade out of opponent's hand. Then, with amazing agility and strength, he used the leg to swing the Captain at the ground. He swiftly followed by pointing his sword at Tyro's throat. The leaves were still falling, but through the dense shower was the silhouette of a fighter on the ground and the other with a blade on his neck. The battle has ended.

"Captain!" Eldar shouted as he unsheathed his weapon and kicked his steed forward. Just as fast, Triger jumped in front of the advancing horseman and ferociously growled. The horse neighed and lifted its front hoofs into the air. Backing of, it ignored its master's command. Frustrated, he jumped off and proceeded to battle the Trilian when a shout from the distant told him to stop.

Blood dripped from Nirvan's forehead and mouth. Sweat, like waterfall, fell from Abel's face. Nexstar, still pointed at the Captain's neck, never went in for the kill.

In a raspy and defeated voice, Tyro ruggedly climbed onto his knees and said, "You have won. Through all the ages of my life, I never thought I would lose. And yet, here I cowered at the edge of your blade. Why do not you not end it and spare me from this defeat in front of my men?"

Blood was pouring from both of his shoulder wounds. The scratch on his face had stop bleeding. Breathing heavily, Abel scoffed, "Is that it? You're giving up now? And instead of asking for forgiveness you ask for death?"

Perplexed by his enemy's question, Tyro responded, "Forgiveness? In all of my years of travel, I have never met anyone that would stop at an apology. Do you not have enough respect for me as to give me a quick death instead of trying to trick me with such devilish acts? Kill me now. To lose to you is already sickening enough."

The Earthling sighed and drew his blade back, as if to push it forward, "If that is what you wish for…"

With opened arms, the Nirvan closed his eyes and felt the cool wind brushing through his skin. Imagining back on all the years of the past, he wondered if he had led a good life. His mind cringed when he thought of all the regrets he had made. He knew that death was always at the end of the journey, but he wondered if his journey was supposed to be this short. His body shivered as he waited to be lifted into the arms of heaven. When it did not come, he opened his eyes to see his enemy walking away.

He struggled to get onto his feet. When he did, he called out, "Wait…why didn't you kill me?"

Abel called out to Triger and kept on walking away as he responded, "Sorry, but I value life much more. It was a good battle. To kill or not to kill you wouldn't make much of a difference anyway. So I pick the lesser evil of the two. This blade is not mine. I do not know how I can handle this sword so easily. But I will not stain something I borrow with a human life. I'd rather hand it back to its rightful owner free of tarnish.

When the Trilian had carefully run back to the Earthling, the four riders spurred their stallions toward their leader. All four jumped off their horses to help their captain up. Abel was beginning to climb onto Triger when a shout from behind told him to wait. When he felt a rough hand on his shoulder, he promptly removed Nexstar, turned around, and raised up his weapon to see the man with the big staff standing in front of him.

"Our captain wishes to speak with you."

Tyro limped forward and put out his hand. "My apology for the rough introduction earlier. My name is Tyro and I am the leader of a group call the Heartrocks. We thought you wrong. You have beaten me fair and square. It was wrong of me to ask you to stain such a fine blade you carry. Warriors like you are rare in this day and age. And as a way to say I am sorry like you suggested, I would like to offer my help.

When Triger began to growl, Abel lowered his hand and patted the animal's hand. Telling the beast that it was okay subconsciously, he then said out loud, "My name is Abel. No apology is needed. But what do you mean by offering me your help?"

Telling his man to let go, the Captain stood on his own feet and said, "Well, look at the sun. It will be getting dark soon. And you are still a long way off from the other end of this forest. You will not get through before the sun sets.

The Earthling turned around to see that the sun had disappeared beneath the towering trees, with echoes of light filtering through in random patches. "I guess you're right. But, if we do not make it to the other end, then I will just sleep and wait for daylight.

A surprised murmur erupted among the riders. Upon hearing those words, Tyro's eyes opened widely. Shaking his head, he said, "Abel, I do not doubt your skill as a fighter. But even you must surely be crazy if you wish to spend a night in this forest."

Before the green and blue eye human could respond, Tyro continued on, "Listen, right now, the forest might look beautiful and peaceful. But at night, hideous monsters come out to govern this land. With your skill, I believe you would be able to take on some of them. But, even you must grow tire at one point or another. Furthermore, you took some pretty good blows from me earlier, and you are still tired from out match. Those wounds of yours should also be looked at, or you might find yourself missing a few limbs in a couple of days. And also, some of these creatures can't be damage at all with regular weapon. They can only be defeated through enchanted weapon."

"Enchanted weapon…" Abel murmured beneath his breath. "What is all of this he is talking about…Nezard never told me this much details." He then asked out loud, "Well, then how are you planning on getting out?"

"Come on, get on your Trilian, and followed me." The Nirvan responded.

With a simple nod, the Earthling jumped onto Triger's back when a familiar voice reached his mind.

'Are you sure you can trust him? You do not think he'll lead you into a trap?' the creature asked.

'No…I do not think he is like that. And Triger, I have no other choice. I am tired from my battle with him, and this shoulder cut should be treated before it gets infected. Don't worry…I think he is more than just a reckless warrior. There is something about him that's interesting.' Abel answered reassuringly.

'Are you going to tell him about your amnesia?' the animal asked as it followed at a safe distant behind the five riders in front of it.

'How did you know I have amnesia?' The warrior asked as he looked down at his beast with surprised eyes.

'From your conversation with Nezard and Titan last night. Plus, I kind of read your mind a little bit.'

'You did?! Were you able to find anything?'

'Nothing much. All I could find was emptiness. Because of that, it's definite you must have lost your memories. Although, I did find a door. I tried opening it, but it would not budge.'

'A door…in the midst of my mind? Do you think my memories are locked behind that door?'

'Possibly,' the beast said, 'all you have to do is find the key.'

'Wow, that's deep. You really a pretty amazing animal. First, you could talk telepathically. Then, you could travel in a person's mind to read them. And now, you are speaking with intelligence and comprehension, things I would have never thought you would possess. Nezard was right. You are a one of a kind. Hey, did you read their mind too?' Abel asked as he motioned to the five cloaked warriors in front.

'Sorry, but wouldn't that be considered rude to you humans?' the Trilian replied back with a sense of pride.

Laughing inside his mind, the Earthling then said, 'And you even have a sense of courtesy. Hey, do you think we'll meet up with Nezard again? If what Tyro said was true, then I worry for him.'

'Do not worry. Nezard is a lot stronger than he looks. Plus, he has an advantage that probably no one in the entire world has,' Triger said as it dodged a fallen branch.

'Oh, what is it?'

Before the beast could reply, Tyro shouted from ahead, "Hey! This way!"

'Hang on,' the animal said as it began increasing it speed.

Including Abel, all six riders sped hurriedly along the foliage covered road while the sun began to set behind them. After a few minutes of riding, they were led off the path and into the forest. Dodging the trees, Triger skillfully managed to avoid the twigs and debris.

Tyro looked back from his horse and motioned ahead, "We're almost there. It is up ahead. Through the bushes."

The Earthling nodded his head in acknowledgement as he grabbed onto the Trilian's fur. The giant skyscrapers of the forest were beginning to grow dark from the retreating sunlight. The wind had died down. As the six riders rushed through the wood, the sounds of leaves cracking beneath their steed's hoofs and paws alike reverberated throughout.

A few minutes later, there were coming to what appeared to be an opening. All six rode on and crashed through the final bush. Abel closed his eyes to avoid the dirt and dust from the shrubs from getting into them. When he felt that they had stopped, he slowly opened his eyelids to see the setting sunlight bouncing off an object. As his visions began to clear, his green and blue eyes grew large in marvel.

In front of him was a massive ship that seemed to have docked in the middle of the clearing.

Looking back, Tyro pointed at the colossal vessel and said in a prideful and proud voice, "See that? That's my ship. I call it, the Ragnarok."


	14. A Greeting and Goodbye

**Chapter 13: A Greeting and Goodbye**

The sun flew aimlessly through the sky while birds glided directionless. The noises of the Gloom Forest began to die down, as if it was scared to make a single noise. The rays of the setting sun collided with the airship, causing it to have a perfect radiance that seemed to capture the essence of the forest. 

The six riders quickly jumped off their steed. The five horsemen handed their beast to the approaching caretakers, but none dare approach the intimidating Trilian. They looked at each other with puzzled glances and finally turned toward their captain for an order. But none was needed. The colossal beast was going to stick by its temporarily new master, still apprehensive about the quickly-formed friendship. The leader nodded his head in approval and the others ran to their duties, leaving the two warriors whom earlier appeared to have been fighting to the death.

Abel still could not take his eyes off the wonder that was in front of him. Although the sun was quickly setting, there was still enough light out to show the beauty of the ship.

"Abel, this is my skyship. Grand isn't it? When Father gave it to me, I only had one name for such a magnificent architectural wonder. Ragnarok is an ancient Magi word for _Heaven_. It's the fastest skyship in the entire world," Tyro gleamed proudly.

The vessel towered over forty feet high, and was as wide as forty feet. Its wooden hull was colored teal while its massive masts were dark brown. Two propellers loomed at the stern while beautiful white sails triumph over the merciless sky. At the bottom of the starboard side was a huge door that allowed men and beast alike to leave the ship. There appeared to be indentations halfway up the sides, but something was covering whatever lied beneath.

The Earthling looked around to see 6 men sitting near the craft, and a few more carrying materials to the areas that had broken boards. He could already recognize some of them. Ark was quietly ordering the others which place needed repairing. Amidst the chaos that was happening outside of the ship, there was an orderly feeling to it.

"What happened here?" Abel asked curiously, "Did something happen to your ship?"

Tyro looked away, threw his hand behind his head and gave a sly grin, "Well, you see, this forest wasn't exactly the ideal landing spot. And being the good pilot that I am, it's a miracle that we landed with us and the ship in one piece."

"Is that what happened Captain?" Eldar asked as he approached the two. "From what I remember right, it was you who ordered us to land on this spot. And I remember us warning you that this place had a greater density of trees. Yet, you stubbornly ordered us to land. It's a good thing that only a portion of the ship's bottom was torn away, and not the entire thing. So I think it's a miracle that we survived actually."

In a playful angry tone, the Captain yelled out, "Hey, get back to work! There's no time for fooling around. We have to make complete the repair by sundown and prepare the defense."

Walking over to help his brother pick a timber, Eldan scoffed, "Think the Captain's trying to show off to the new kid?"

"Seems like it. But once again, he's right. Come on, help me take this over to the port side. There's still a hole there that needs to be plugged," Eldar said with a slight smile.

"Hey Abel, there's some stuff that I need to attend to, but first, I want to introduce you to the rest of my crew," Tyro said as he gave a loud whistle. Upon hearing the sound, everyone began to gather around their leader and the new face.

"Alright Heartrock," the Nirvan shouted, "I want to introduce you to a new member on our ship. I wouldn't say he's a Heartrock yet, but I think he's getting there. His name is Abel. Treat him like any worse than as one of our brothers, and you'll have to respond to me, got it?!"

Eldan leaned over and whispered into his brother's ear, "Yep. He's definitely showing off."

Looking around with curious eyes, Abel could feel that all eyes were on him. His stomach beginning to feel sick, he managed to smile slightly and wave to the others. After the introduction, most of the Heartrock went back to their job as Tyro disappeared into the interior of the ship.

Feeling like a lamb lost among a pack of wolves, the Earthling continued to be on alert with his fingers at the edge of the hilt of his sword. Just then, a small boy of almond-shaped eyes and brown lockets of hair ran up and stood in front of him.

"Hi!" the kid exclaimed energetically, almost causing Triger to pounce on him.

Abel looked deep into the child's light brown pupil-less eyes and saw an almost reflection of himself when he was younger. "Hi, what's your name?"

"I'm Dalion, and you're Abel right? I really like your name! It sounds kind of funny and girly at the same time. Wow! I like your sword! Can I see it? Please? Please? Come on, I know how to fight. I'm a Heartrock after all. Wow! Is that a Trilian? I've heard about these in storybooks but I never thought I would see one in real life. It's so big! What does it eat? How did it get so big?" The teenager asked quickly as he walked around the beast.

"It eats little Lucos rascal like yourself," Plian interjected as he tried to pull the boy away from the animal when it growled lightly, causing him to pull back his fingers.

"Lucos? What's a Lucos?" Abel asked curiously as he asked stood next Plian, watching the ironic sense of a small youngster run around a creature that could eat him whole.

"You don't know what a Lucos is?" The Heartrock asked in a shocked tone as he turned toward the Earthling.

"Unfortunately, I don't. I've been a little out of touch these last few days," he lied with a weak smile.

Raising an eyebrow, the Nirvan replied back, "Well, their history is a tragic one. If you really want to know more about them, you should ask the Captain. Nonetheless, a Lucos is just another race of Nirva, just like you and I are humans. They are almost of the same exact stature as we humans are. But, their most distinguishing traits are their pupil-less almond brown eyes and the black halo inscribed onto their forehead."

Looking back, Abel was shocked to have almost missed the black circle on top of the child's head. "Wow, I can't believe I missed that when I first saw him. What does it stand for?"

Plian ignored the question and said, "Their race used to live on the border of Arsenia and Angelus. But," the Nirvan paused for a second and shook his head, "their kind is all but wiped out. He is the last of their noble yet accursed race."

The Nirvan walked over, said something quietly between the two of them, and the two ran back to their duties. But before he disappeared, Dalion shouted back, "Hey, you have really nice eyes!"

Abel could feel the hair on his arms standing up. The child and he were in the same situation. They were alone. No one could understand them, or what they're going through. He had lost his memories, and now stood in a world that became stranger by the seconds. And on the other side was an innocent youth that when he dies so will whatever history his blood carried within him.

A hand on his shoulder interrupted his concentration. He turned around to see another one of the Heartrocks.

The slim man stuttered as he pointed toward the Trilian, "Do you wish for us to take your animal to the stable? It looks hungry and tired."

The Earthling turned toward Triger and gave a light nod, allowing the beast to free its sense of security for the first time since they entered the forest. Both man and creature left, leaving the green and blue eyes human alone once again.

He began approaching the massive vessel, which was beginning to be enveloped by the oncoming darkness. His eyes traversed across the grass field. Everyone had a job to do except him. He was the only one without a goal. His memories were still lost to him. In the back of his mind he pondered at what had happened to Nezard and Titan, and why they deserted him. The wind was beginning to pick up. The coldness it brought cut through his skin like daggers. His stomach growled of hunger. His wounds were beginning to dry up. The pain and aches from the previous battle were still lingering. There wasn't much more he could do outside of the ship. When he came upon the giant door that led to the interior of the skyship, he hesitated. Outside, there was still a bit of light left. But inside, it was total darkness. There would be no turning back once he stepped through. Closing his eyes, he inhaled a big gulp of air, and after exhaling it out, he took the first step into the darkness.

After a couple of steps, the hallway opened up into a massive space. Before him were Heartrocks running to and fro, some carrying water and food the animals that were being held at the other end, while others were heartily chatting about their families back home. The inside of the ship was as gigantic as the outside. At the lower level, there were over forty stalls to house the animals. Torches hung on the sidewall every few meters. On both sides were stairs leading into the upper echelon. On the left elevation was a sparring ground. There were dummies for practice, and a small ring for duels. Weapons were neatly laid on holders. On the opposite end was a range for archers to hone their skills.

Without a sense of direction, Abel walked up the left stairway and saw a small boxing match being held in the ring. The two opponents were almost of the same stature, but judging from the reactions of the two, the Earthling could tell that the battle was going to be over soon. Indeed, the farer one was faster and sent his opponent stumbling onto the ground. At first, the green and blue eye human was afraid there might be a revenge hit, but the two fighters merely congratulated one another.

The camaraderie of this ship seems to be unparallel, he thought. When asked if he wanted to join, he only smiled and politely refused. There were hardened clay weights lying on contraptions that appeared to be used to stimulate and strengthen certain muscle areas. There were two doors on both ends, and another staircase leading into what appeared to be the third level.

On the door closer to him were writings that he couldn't comprehend. When he saw a person walking out of it, he asked what that sign read. Although the Heartrock gave him a weird look, it was explained that the engine room was behind the door. Behind the other door on the opposite end was the kitchen, and the staircase led up to the living quarters, the conference room, the dining hall, and the Captain's living area.

He thanked the Heartrock and walked up to the third level. It was a long hallway that appeared to run from the front of the ship to the back, over thirty yards in length. The width was big enough for five men to stand next to one another, and tall enough for a soldier to jump without fear of hitting the ceiling.

The living quarters were empty. Abel peeked into a room with its door opened, and there was a three beds total, one of them on top of the other. Some were impressively clean while others were amazingly filthy. It appeared as though all of the rooms had a bunk bed and an extra cot to the side. There were cabinets for clothing, and a table for letter writings. There was an average size window that allowed outside lights to creep in.

The Earthling continued his exploration as he walked down the hall, sometime encountering busy Heartrocks. After quite a walk and a few turns of the corner, he came upon a slightly opened door and could hear a conversion being carried beyond it. Just as he was about to ignore it, he heard his name being spoken.

Curious, he peeked through the door and saw two figures talking to one another. One was sitting down behind a desk, and the other was standing on the other side. When the torches flickered, he saw that it was two familiar faces he had seen before.

"What do you plan to do now?" Ark asked as he sat on the chair in front of the table.

Tyro sighed loudly and shook his head, "I don't think there's much we can do. One of the engines is damaged. It'll take overnight to fix it. The _angels _we cannot avoid."

"That is not what I'm referring to," the massive human said in a sturdy tone.

"Well, if you're referring to our new passenger, then like the mess with the engines, there's not much we can do it."

"But his eyes. You have seen his eyes. There is only one person in this entire world that has those eyes."

"You're referring to his green and blue eyes? I know, I've seen them, but we cannot act rashly. There is something amidst that I cannot put my finger on. But, we cannot worry about Abel right now. He is my passenger and my responsibility."

Leaning on the door a little too much, Abel pushed it slightly and in the midst of the silent, its creaking sounded more like an explosion. Afraid of being caught, he ran down the hall and pretended to walk up to it. The two men ended their conversation. As Ark walked out, he saw the nervous looking Earthling giving a half smile and a wave. Showing no signs of emotion, he turned around and went the other way. Tyro peeked outside, and when he saw the youth, he motioned to the fighter to join him inside.

"I see you're exploring this ship already?" the Captain asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Abel tried to mask his awkwardness with a slight grin and replied, "Yeah. I thought it was big on the outside, but inside it seems to be endless." His eyes glanced around the room, noting a small portrait on the table. There was another door to the side that led to the bedroom. An assorted collection of items graced the wooden walls. In the back wall was an emblazon shield that showed either a rising or a setting sun. On its left side was a sword with a snake entangled on the blade. On the right was a bow that appeared to be shooting an arrow at the serpent.

"Well, then, since you're already here, I won't have to go looking for you. I already have a room prepare for you. There's a shower a little bit down. If you're shy, then I guess there's nothing I can do for you since I shower there too," The Captain explained as he sat back and put his legs on the table.

"Sorry if I sound nosy, but, you guys were talking about me. Specifically my eyes. I don't understand what Ark meant only one other person in this world has them." The Earthling said in an almost apologetic voice.

"Ah, don't pay too much of a mind to such a mindless matter. Come, I shall lead you to your room where you can change. From there, you can go shower and clean those wounds of yours. Hopefully, by the time you're done with that, it'll be chow time." Tyro proclaimed as he rubbed his stomach in a delightful manner.

He wanted to ask more, but he held back his tongue. Abel knew he couldn't bite the hospitality that had been shown to him. And so, the two began walking down the long hall toward the guest quarter. They had a friendly conversation about how one of the caretakers was so afraid to approach Triger that he had peed in his pants. Tyro explained that it was a good way to toughen the men's character in tougher time. When they finally arrived, the Nirvan pointed to a room a little down the way and said he'd take his leave. Without wanting to bother the leader of skyship any further, the green and blue eyes human said his thanks.

The room he was given seemed to be just like the others, except it only had one bed, giving it a bigger appearance. The same table was there, as well as the window to the outside world. When he saw the welcoming sight of the warm mattress, he quickly took off his sword and instantly fell into its embrace. It was the softest thing he had felt since he could remember. He lied on his back and stared up at the ceiling. Suddenly, the tiredness hit him like a blow to the stomach, and the pull of sleep began to tug on him. At first, he resisted, but soon its strength was overwhelming. When his will was no longer, his eyes closed and he fell fast asleep.

Night had finally invaded the Gloom Forest. Thousands of stars twinkled in the sky above while the twin moons shined forth their radiance. Surrounding the skyship were hundreds of lit torches. Their flame flickered in the soft wind, casting shadows to lit areas and luminosity to darkness. Sentry men patrolled at the top of the vessel, their eyes gazing into the dark wood, all the while being alert at the slightest movement of shadows.

When he felt a soft hand on his shoulder, Abel jumped quickly opened his eyes and almost jumped off the bed. Seeing who it was, he relaxed and gave a half smile.

"The Captain said to come and get you. Dinner is ready to be served, and everyone who is not on patrol is gathering in the dining hall. I didn't want to wake you up since you look so peaceful, but I was afraid the Captain might yell at me again. Sorry if I disturb your slumber," Dalion said in a humble tone as he looked down on the ground.

"That's alright. I can't believe I fell asleep so easily. How long have I been sleeping?"

"For a few hours now, I think. Come on, get up!" the youth broke into excitement, "tonight is going to be a special night since we have a guest. I heard the Captain talking about if we weren't in such a dangerous place, we would put on a play for you. But instead, we're going to just sing. I guess that's good enough right? Come on, come on, we're going to miss dinner!"

"Alright, alright," Abel laughed at the youngster's energy, "I'm up. Why don't you head to the dining hall first and I'll join you, okay? Let me wash my face first."

"Do you know where it is?" The Lucos asked as he was halfway to the door.

"It's the last door down the hallway right?" questioned the Earthling as he examined his blade.

"You got it! See you there Christo!" Dalion exclaimed as his footsteps echoed away.

Wondering at what the word meant, Abel yawned and began to stretch his muscles. He left his room and headed toward the washroom. Considering it was too late for a shower, he leaned down and only washed his face. The cold water was soothing and instantly woke the Earthling up. When he was done, he continued down the atrium and into the last door.

Upon entering the room, he was greeted with a visage of laughter and chatters. Dinner had already begun. The dining room was as big as the lower level where the animals were held. At its center were two giant tables that spanned across the area, having enough space for hundreds of Heartrock. Torches hung on the walls, giving a warm radiance that complemented the golden cooked food that was being served.

When he heard his name being called, he approached the closest table and saw an empty seat to the right of Tyro. When he sat down, he could see Ark sitting across from him. Further down the row were the twin brothers, Eldar and Eldan. To his right was the ever smiling Dalion. Next to him was Plian. From his end of the row, he couldn't tell when the table ended.

Fruits were placed in masses in front of them, accompanied by the countless of golden food. Hands were already picking at them before the Earthling even sat down.

"Well, Abel, I hope you slept well. And from the growling of your stomach, I'm guessing you must be extremely hungry!" Tyro joked as he broke the leg from the animal on the table and placed the cooked meat on green and blue eyes human plate. "Eat! We are all brothers at these tables." He laughed as he began cramming down on food.

Conversations were loud, and laughter was plentiful. Alcohols were poured into outreach cups and foods were continually served. A Heartrock was telling the story of his misfortune when he mistaken his wife's sister for his wife. When his other half saw him kissing her own sister, she became so enraged that she went out, collected sewage water, returned home, and dumped it all over him.

While he ate and talked with the others around him, he could not understand why, but Ark's eyes were on him the entire time. Upon sensing the Abel's uneasiness, Tyro shouted, "Alright you dirty airmen. Tonight, we have a visitor. As it is known that Heartrock hospitality is the best in all the land," he said, to which a loud cheer responded, "I believe it is time for us to sing our theme. Gentlemen, or should I say, rock men, lets show our guest what horrible singing voice we have!"

Roaring laughter swept across the tables, and soon they were all up. One arm they held onto each other, and the other one they grasped their cup.

"We are the airmen of the Ragnarok.

We are called the Heartrocks

We travel east and west and high and low,

Through the unforgiving sky we go.

The fastest airship in all the kingdoms,

We perform plays to rid our boredoms.

Our loyalty goes to only one man

We will always be his biggest fans.

Drinking is our game, fighting is our skill.

Don't mess with us or you will be kill.

Following him into the end,

Traveling across the land.

The song was sung many times over, each time as energetically as the last. Leaning over, Abel screamed into Tyro's ears into order to rise above the noise of the singing, "hey Tyro is it okay to let your men drink? Didn't you say we're in a dangerous spot right now?"

With a loud laugh, the Nirvan replied back, "Don't worry about it. My men can handle more than a few cups of ale. Why else do you think people called us the Heartrocks?"

Suddenly, the entrance slammed open and in came a panting sentry. Silence wavered in the air. The Captain quickly yet calmly lowered his cup and told the others to help the runner up.

"What happen? What's going on?"

"Captain, we have sightings! There are approximately three of them!"

Quieting the murmurs that instantly arose, Tyro continued his questioning, "What is it? Three of what?"

"Angels!" the man shouted out of breath, "from what we can discern through the darkness, they're homunculus!"

Before even a hint of chaos among his men, the Nirvan stood up and shouted, "Alright. All of you get to the upper level. Eldar! Eldan! I want you two to go to the engine room and see if the engines are repaired yet. Plian, I want you to go with Ark to ensure that all of the airmen make it to the upper deck."

When there appeared to be objections, he quickly raised his hand and shouted, "There's no time for idle chit chat. Do it, now!"

That was all that it took to settle the matter. After saluting their leader, everyone left the dining hall. Caught in the middle of the ensuing chaos was Abel.

'Angels? Messengers of God? Why are they afraid of angels?' he thought when he felt a hand pulling him to the side.

"Tyro! What's going on? What are angels? And homunculus?" The Earthling asked in a nervous tone.

"You don't know what they are?!" The Nirvan replied in a shock voice.

"No. I don't. Listen, there's a lot I can't explain right now. But please, just tell me what's going on!"

Without further questioning, the Captain left the room and dragged the confused fighter with him. "I'm guessing we have a lot to discuss, but now it's not the time. I need your help."

"What do you mean you need my help?"

"Get your sword and meet at the stairs leading into the lower level. I'll explain what you need to know when we get there. And hurry!"

Upon entering his room, Abel rapidly grabbed his blade and ran down the hall, dodging by running Heartrocks that were going the other way. There, he saw Tyro standing with his sword unsheathed.

"Alright. It seems as though all of the men are above of us. Ark should be able to tell them what to do. Now, remember what I told you earlier? When we were in the forest? About monsters that cannot be injure by regular weapon? Well, they are called homunculus. Shadowy figures that prey on the living. They attack by reaching into the depth of your body and pulling out your life force. But unlike other angels, they feed on it. So if its eats your life force, you will be wiped out. You would not exist anymore. Listen, I'll explain everything you want to know, but after we get through this. Right now I need you to help me."

"What do you need help with?"

"Your steel is an enchanted weapon. I have heard rumors that only certain types of weapon can injure these angels. My blade is useless against them, but I will distract them. While I do that, you will attack with your sword. I do not think you'll be able to kill them, but if you can injure them enough, you'll scare them away, giving us enough time to repair the engines."

"How much longer would it take?"

"Eldar reported to me before you came. It would take another twenty minutes. They're running into complications. Listen, I know you're afraid, but for now, you're our only hope. I could, of course, take it from you. But I am a man, not a thief. Please Abel, help us," Tyro said in a pleading tone.

His blood rushing rapidly across his body, Abel felt that he had to repay his debt, "Alright. Just tell me what to do and I'll follow your orders."

Smiling, the Nirvan nodded, "Okay, good, now fo-" and then his voice suddenly dropped.

His eyes were fixed on the rising shadow figures down the hall. The Earthling turned around and almost jumped at horror that was before him. It was a formless mass that floated in the air. Their entire form was covered in darkness, except for two bright eyes at the top. They had neither legs nor arms.

'This is bad,' Tyro pondered as the two shadows began approaching them. 'I was hoping to take on them one by one, but two is too much for Abel. I have to do it, there's no other way.'

The Captain pushed the Earthling back and said with almost fearful eyes, "Abel, what you see next do not tell anyone."

The Nirvan ran his thumb through his sword and soon blood came spilling forward. He took the cut finger and drew a circle of exactly thirteen inches in diameter on the wooden ground, and inside the halo he inscribed a triangle. He curled his hand into a fist at first, and finally opened his palm and slammed it into the drawn objects.

Suddenly, a white light erupted from the sketch and two loud screeches reverberated down the hall. Abel dropped onto his knees while covering both ears. Seconds later, the brightness disappeared and Tyro was struggling to get up. The Earthling hurried over to help him up. Blood was dripping from the Nirvan's mouth and his breathing was difficult.

"Wow," he exclaimed in an almost joking tone, "that was a lot more painful than I thought it would be."

"What happened!? What did you did you do?" The green and blue eyes human asked as he helped the leader of the Heartrock up.

"That doesn't matter. Come on, there's still two left. I'm afraid they might be going for the animals."

That was when the thought of Triger's safety sprung onto his mind. "Can you walk?" Abel asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Come on, let's go."

And so, both warriors hurried down the stair to come onto the left most elevation. The torches were flickering, allowing the shadows to dance with one another. Both fighters had their weapon drawn, and Nexstar was radiating a cool blue glow. It was dead silence, compared to the busy scene that was during sundown. Both were on high alert. Because of the flickering torches, they could not tell if a shadow was just a silhouette or if it was the homunculus.

The horses were stomping their hooves and neighing out loud. Abel tried to talk to Triger in his mind, but there was no reply. Fearing for the worse, he tried to hurry forward but a heavy hand held him back.

"These are not the enemy to rush on. There is only one left. Although the life force of animals attracts them, it is conscious beings like you and I that it wants the most. Do not worry about finding it. It will come to us," Tyro said, sharing his wisdom with the new comer.

Suddenly, a cold chill ran down the back of the two fighters. They quickly turned around to see the outstretched form of a hand of the angel reaching at them. Using his weakened strength, the Captain pushed the Earthling and the two narrow dodge the fatal attack. When he tried to get up, he coughed up blood and quickly collapsed onto the ground.

"Tyro!" Abel shouted as his sword began to shake from nervousness.

The homunculus turned its head toward the fallen human and slowly began to approach him.

Shaking his fear from him, the Earthling shouted out even louder, "Hey! He isn't your food. Come on, don't you want a fresh one?"

His plan worked. The angel turned around and slowly began to approach him. His hands still quivering, he began backing up, leading the monster away from his friend. All of the sudden, he felt himself tripping on something and collided with the wooden floor. The pain immediately spread throughout his body. Coughing up spit, he immediately tried to get onto his feet, but it was already too late. The homunculus was floating in front of him.

On the other side, Tyro had managed to regain consciousness and was on his stomach, seeing the events unfolding before him. His legs had given up on him, and so did his arms. All he could do was watch as Abel tripped and the shadow appearing on top of the fighter.

"Do not look into its eyes!" the Nirvan shouted as he desperately tried to move his body.

But it was too late. The green and blue eyes human had looked into the angel's white eyes. The blue blade easily left the Earthling's finger and struck the wood below. The angel stretched forth its ominous black hand, and with lightning speed reached deep into Abel's heart.

Leaving his state of being hypnotized because of the pain, he began to scream loudly as he could almost feel his life force beginning to be suck out of him. Just as the homunculus was about to pull back its hand, something happened.

An amazingly bright blue light illuminated from within the Earthling, and soon enveloped the entire lower deck. The sapphire luminosity spread from inside of Abel onto the monster's hand, and quickly vaporized the outstretched arm. He quickly fell onto the floor; his limbs weak from the encounter. The shadow began to screech at a pain it thought it never had to feel. The shriek ran from the lower floor to the upper, sending chills down the spine of the Heartrocks standing up at top.

It looked down at the Earthling with its hideous eyes, this time glowing red with anger. Using what strength that he could, he sat up and hoped to crawl away from the being. Inside him was the fear of death. The angel reached out with its second arm, and curled it back, preparing to thrust it into the human's body.

With the same swift speed, it launched its attack and Abel could only close his eyes and wait for the pain. But it never came. The world around him was still hazy. He could hear distant shouting, but he couldn't discern whose it was, or was it him screaming? When the discomfort did not come, he opened his eyes to see a figure standing in front of him.

With his arms outstretch, Dalion stood in front of the Earthling. Behind him was the shadowy figure with its arm deep within the Lucos's body. Abel could only look up. All sounds had disappeared from the world. He could feel his beating. He could see the black circle on the youth's head. He could see the youngster's pupil-less brown eyes.

The youth seemed to be muttering something beneath his breath, but the fighter did not hear it. The last thing he saw was a smile from the child.

The homunculus pulled out its slender finger, and grasped between its palm was a glowing ball of many dancing colors. At the center of the sphere was a bright crystallized light, shining an amazing white brilliance that lit the entire deck. The fingers began to slowly squeeze immaculate orb, slowly disintegrating the colors. The pallid glow was the last to go, and soon the room was back to the way it was. The ball was completely vaporized within the demon's hand.

Showing no remorse, it stretched its hand out again and began to thrust it at the Earthling when from the back came Triger. It pounced right through the shadow being, which quickly materialized into its original figure. Showing its ferocious fangs and growling a sound that could cause even the most hardened man to cower; the Trilian crouched ready in front of its rider.

But the angel showed no fear. Instead, it slowly approached the beast, again extending forth its fingers. The animal attacked the monster again, and began to lead it away from the humans.

Dalion's body lurched forward and his brown eyes turned to complete blackness. His lifeless body fell into Abel's outspread arms. The warrior's shaking had stopped. He could feel something deep within him. He found himself asking what it was. It was not fear. Was it hate, or sadness, he pondered? The child's heartbeat had stopped. His skin turned white. And the warmth that was radiating only a few hours earlier had all but been wiped out.

The Earthling felt something wet falling onto his hand. Was it tears he wondered? They were warm. He tried to stop them but they kept on coming, each time more than the last. Pretty soon, the child's shirt was wet with tears. He continued to cry. His forehead felt as if they were burning up. His ears were hot. And something was eating inside of his stomach. The pain was so bad that he felt like puking. It wasn't regular pain though. This was a pain beyond all the pain he had felt. It was something that had no cure, no herbs would heal. His hands were quivering again. But not from fear, instead, it was from anger.

Putting the child's frail body aside, he slowly stood up and stopped his trembling by grasping the hilt of Nexstar, which began to glow cerulean again. When the Trilian tried to leap at the homunculus, the demon swiped its hand at the beast, sending it tumbling onto the weapon's rack. The angel slowly approached the injure animal and began to reach forth when abruptly, its black body began to glow blue. Its white eyes looked downward, and saw the head of a sword sticking through it. Behind it was the Abel, with tears still fresh from his eyes and on his face. But his eyes were not green and blue anymore. They were golden.

The monster didn't even have a chance to cry. It instantly disappeared, leaving behind the same looking ball that appeared when Dalion died. The sphere glimmered brightly and began floating up into the sky. The Earthling looked at the orb and saw the smiling face of a child that chose to live when those around him had died. When it disappeared through the ceiling, the fighter dropped the blade from his hand and collapsed into welcoming embrace of sleep.


	15. The Massacre At Ipsen

**Chapter 14: The Massacre at Ipsen **

iThe leaves danced in the air as the wind swept through the wood, carrying debris and dirt with it. Small critters scurried over fallen branches; searching for food at the first sign of light. Birds of prey scoured the land while their fair feather embraced the gentle tugging of the moving air. The breeze lifted the veil of darkness and chased it into the eastern edge, bringing a warm blanket of light to soothe the previous night's chilling breathe.

There was a slight vibration. The wooden floor creaked and grumbled. The machineries in the engine room began to stretch, sending mites and small creatures scurrying back to their home. On the two sides of the Ragnarok, a long stretch of wood retreated into the ship, and a great arm extended into the open air. After the unwinding, a massive sail unfolded on both the port and the starboard opening. Slowly, the vessel began to rise above the soft patches of earth. At first, there seemed to be an imbalance in the weight transfer ratio as the skyship began to tip toward one side. But after a few daunting shouts and quick fixes, the cruiser leveled out and began ascending past the trees and into the heaven.

Ashen birds flew overhead toward the oncoming light. The darkness was retreating, leaving in its wake a prism sky of colors from the darkest orange to the lightest yellow. Everything seemed peaceful in the heaven. The death of an old day had given birth to a new one. It wasn't as cold as the prior night.

The sunlight filtered through the roving white clouds and reflected off the green and blue eyed. Abel stood near the fore of the craft, his long black cloak flowing softly in the air. His pupils remained fixed on the rising sun in the western horizon. He cringed when the brightness was too much, but he could not stop looking. It was only when a soft but stern hand grabbed his shoulder did he break from his daydream.

"You alright?" Tyro asked as he gazed off into the same direction as was the Earthling.

There was no answered. The Ragnarok continued its ascension until it was over the trees and into the atmosphere. The massive twin propellers began spinning, at first slowly but soon became a violent maelstrom that sent the skyship piercing through the air.

The Heartrocks were all clothed in black cloaks and stood in circle around the center. They were standing at the topmost level of the Ragnarok, which had the sky for its ceiling. At the fore of the vessel was a gigantic open area with ropes running throughout the ground. In the middle, three massive masts had unfurled their pristine white sails. And at the aft of the skyship was an elevated room that had a full view of everything that was around them. Two stairways were attached from the control room to the lower balcony deck. And flowing in the placid breeze was the flag of the Heartrock, attached to a beam on top of the room that could see all.

Lying on a pile of freshly cut wood was the lifeless body of Dalion. Dressed in the garment of the dead, his pale face was a stark contrast to the brilliance of the golden sunrise. He lied amidst the timber, his two hands holding onto a silver sword that ran down on top of his body.

The airmen stood with the cloak's hood over their head. It was a somber mood. Abel finally turned from the bright fireball and at the makeshift furnace. Masked behind his eyes were sadness and anger. "No one blames you." The words repeated over and over in his mind. He pondered if it was his fault? His hands began to shake again.

Tyro turned away from the funeral procession and looked at the struggling youth. Was that the first time he saw death? He wondered. He could remember the first time he saw someone close to him dying. The mixture of emotions. The feelings of emptiness. He slowly reached up and reassuringly grabbed the Earthling's shoulder.

With the sounding of the distant bells, the funeral rite had begun. Plian left the circle and stood at the forefront of the wooden grave. And then, Eldar joined him while grasping a flute in hand. The Heartrock put the instrument to his mouth and began to play a lament that had originated from the land of the Lucos. His companion inhaled slowly and began singing to the tunes. Both words and melodies echoed through the atmosphere, attracting curious birds that were hypnotized at the soft sound.

While the two sang and played, other airmen began marching one by one to the timber pile. They all placed a gold coin onto the youngster's chest. After the gift was given, they knelt and said a prayer.

The Captain stood closely by the green and blue eyed youngster when they had given their gift. Before the skyship was launched, he had given the youth the details of the funeral for Dalion. Because he was the last Lucos, they believed it was respectful to give him a heritage memorial service.

Everything happened too fast. A few minute after Abel fainted, the Heartrocks returned to the lower deck to search for survivors. They immediately saw their commander attempting to help the newcomer up. It was then when they saw Dalion's flaccid body did they understand the result of the fight. Ever since Abel recovered consciousness and learned of the truth, he had been standing near the makeshift coffin for Dalion.

Tyro shook his head in disbelief as he looked at the kid that was next to him. The Earthling was attacked by a homunculus, but instead of having his life-force withdrawn, he damaged the angel. The Nirvan grasped at his heart when it skipped a beat. He too realized he had avoided death. Using the life circle had drawn much of his strength. It would take time and rest for it to recover.

They were finally out of danger. The skyship was heading toward the safe city of Angelus. The song came to a bittersweet end. A torch was relayed to the leader of the vessel.

With a slight hesitation, he walked up to the lumber mound and spoke out loud, "Today, we send one of our own into the embrace of the Goddess Althura. May she see the good he has done in life, and allow him into the seventh kingdom. Brothers. Let us say farewell."

When he was done, everyone untied their ebony cloaks and raised their fine blades into the air. The silver steel quickly reflected off the incoming rays of light, casting random patches of white area onto the forest beneath. The commandant held up the pillar of fire and cast it into the timber heap, sending forth a flame that climbed high into the reaches of space. They all held their weapons high for all the time the fire burned, until there was nothing but ashes left to be swept away by the greedy wind.

The ceremony ended when the last fire was extinguished. Everyone had returned to their jobs on the flying contraption. Abel stood leaning over the railing, his eyes tracing the oncoming horizon. They meandered as he gazed at the overhead teal clouds. His daydream came quickly to an end when a friendly face stood next to him.

"You don't look so well," Tyro said as he handed a small candy toward his passenger.

"What is this?" The youth asked as he looked at orange round ball.

"It's a very amazing medicine that when you drink, it'll instantly make your air sickness go away and cure you from all pain," the commander explained as if he was advertising the product. When the reaction was a faceless stare, he threw his head back and laughed, "Okay, fine, you got me. It's an _amaderi_. It's really chewy. I heard someone was chewing on it for like a few months. This is what I give to everyone new to flying. It'll take your mind off the rocking and the rolling and the…"

Upon hearing the words, the Earthling threw his head over the railing and puked out last night's dinner.

"Wow!" the Captain exclaimed as he peered at the trees below, "let's hope no one was below us when that happened eh? Here, take it. It's sweet."

The teen took the small orb and plopped it into his mouth. Seeing that the kid liked the taste, the leader of the skyship inquired in a gentle tone, "So, how are you feeling?"

The green and blue eyed human looked at his counterpart with a pale face and uttered in a sarcastic tone, "Beside the urge to throw up every few minutes, just great."

"You know what I mean…" the commander's voice trailed off.

"I don't know. Everything happened so fast…"

"The men said that during the chaos when the angels came, Dalion somehow snuck away from the stampede to the upper deck. When Plian didn't see him up there with everyone else, he started searching for him. Dalion probably heard our conversation and followed us, and saw what I did. He then most likely trailed after us to the bottom floor, and when he saw the homunculus reaching to get you, he jumped in the way."

"Why though!? He barely knew me!" Abel shouted before his voice faded away.

"I guess you don't know the history behind Dalion's race."

"Please, tell me. I think that's the only way I can honor him. I have to try and carry on their memories…" the Earthling mumbled in a saddened tone.

"Well, there is a reason to why Dalion was the last of his kind," Tyro began to explain as he turned around and leaned back on the railing. "The Lucos had a trait that made them common names in every kingdom's household. Their blood had the ability to heal injuries and treat certain diseases. When others discovered their secret, they began hunting the Lucos. At first, it was just a tiny prick on the finger to drain some blood, and then they let the Lucos go. But soon, when war and sickness ravaged the land, they began hunting more and more of them. You can guess what happened next…"

The teenager contemplated for a moment, and then opened his mouth in shock at what he just thought about.

"Yup," the Captain said as he shook his head, "instead of just a tiny prick, they just cut across the veins, draining all of the blood. The Lucos dies of course, and soon, there were mass graves in all of the kingdoms. The situation became so bad that a treaty was sign, banning all Lucos hunting, but that didn't stop the trade. I think it even increased the hunting because it became a black market. Rich royalty paid a lot of money to keep a Lucos caged in one of their homes, and whenever they would get sick or hurt, they would slowly cut the Lucos to drain enough blood, and then feed him so he wouldn't die, and they kept on repeating the process."

"How come no one stopped it?" Abel interrupted in an angry shout.

"Because, thanks to the Lucos' blood, many lives were save from normal infections and in the battlefield as well."

"That didn't make it right! That's just sad! To use another's life for one's own gain," the Earthling exclaimed ruefully.

The commander only stood in silence. After a moment, he continued on, "Perhaps I would feel better if I could say that all of Nirvans were responsible for the extinction of the Lucos race. But such was not the case. Do you know who were the main consumer and supplier of the trade? It was humans. It's sickening what humans would do to make money."

"How did you find Dalion then?" The youngster asked as he wiped his eyes.

"By a stroke of luck really. The Heartrocks took a special order of hunting down a noble that appeared to be hoarding by overcharging the taxes. When we captured him, we saw Dalion in chains while locked inside a cage. His eyes were sagging, and his body was just raw bones. It appeared as though the nobleman had a sick daughter, and took Dalion's blood day and night. We released him, and it took a few weeks to nurse him back to full health."

Smiling, Tyro turn to look at the youngster, "You know what the most ironic thing was? The nobleman was charged and executed. Not on the charges of illegal abduction and torture of another race, it was on tax evasion. Anyway, by the time Dalion had recovered back to his former self, the entire Heartrock crew grew fond of him. And so, we decided to make him one of us. We couldn't return him back home because he'll get kidnapped again. He was ecstatic of course. And that was around, three years ago I think?"

"I don't get it though," Abel interjected the speech, "why didn't the Lucos do anything about the kidnappings? Why didn't they band together or something? To prevent their people from being killed?"

"Because it is the same reason Dalion jumped in to save you!" The Captain shouted at the naïve youth, "My apology Abel. I let my anger get the best of me."

"That's fine, no apologies are needed," the Earthling smiled while shaking his head.

"It is not you I am angry at. It is just what happened to them. Anyway, the reason they didn't fight back is that the Lucos are a peace-loving people. They have no standing army. They are the definition of innocence. Even Dalion, after seeing all that he has seen in the past three years of being with us, he still maintains his purity. They are probably the only race to think of others before themselves," the commandant clarified in a softer manner. "I've heard of stories of Lucos who sacrificed their own lives to save an entire village. That's just their way of living. The King of Arsenia tried to tell them to resist, but they thanked him, and said that it was not their way of living. I believe that is the same with Dalion. Although he had just met you, he instantly considered you family, and when he saw you in danger, he didn't hesitate, instead, he acted."

The youngster slowly sighed, and then commented, "He called me _Christo_ when I first met him. I wish I had known what it meant."

"It means friend. A trustworthy companion. That's what it means to be translated. _Christo vehi aarientos Christo paha nume ima._ 'Friends come before life, friends live after death.' It's an old Legna proverb. The Lucos are probably the only people that still speak and understand such an old language," explained Tyro in a respectful voice.

"I see," the Earthling's voice faded softly, "Is that what he mumbled last night? I couldn't hear it."

"I couldn't hear him either, but perhaps that's what he said. It's a saying that in life, you value your friends above your own life, and even in death, the friendship still lives on."

"For someone so young, to be so talented and unique," the teenager uttered in admiration.

"You know Abel, if you look at it closely, you are just like him. Both of you are naïve, but yet you never hesitate to help out. I'm sure in you're his memories will continue to live, as well as that of all the Lucos," Tyro patted the teenager's shoulder.

Just as the Earthling was about to object, he stopped and tried to recall how old he was. It was then he realized that he did know his own age. As he began to contemplate further, the Captain's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Listen, we're going to reach Angelus pretty soon. Do you know where you're going to go?"

The adolescent closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh high air, "I don't know. But I guess the first thing for me to do is return Triger back to its rightful owner."

"Really? You mean that creature isn't yours? Whose is it then?"

"An old man by the name of Nezard. I was going with him and a, umm, Daagin called Titan I think. But we got separated in the wood. Our original intention was to head to this city of Angelus. Hopefully I'll find him there.

At the mention of the name of the elder, Tyro's eyes enlarged with surprise and was quickly interested, "Well, you do know that the capital is a really big metropolis right?"

"I guess there's no other choice."

"Hey Abel, do you still remember what happened last night?"

"Unfortunately, yeah," the Earthling answered as he gazed at the other warrior's eyes with the lingering sadness still within his. "Why do you ask?"

"Do you remember when I drew a triangle within a circle made from my blood?" The commander questioned the other fighter. When the reply was a nod, he continued, "Do you know what I did?"

"Not really. Whatever it is you killed the angels."

"Hmm, since you do not know, then I guess it's unfair of me to ask you to keep a secret you do not comprehend. Do you wish to know?"

"If you're comfortable telling it to me. If you aren't, then that's fine. I can keep something inside of me that I do not understand." Abel responded as he again gazed at the horizon where the sun had torn a hole and had escaped into the hug of the cerulean sky.

"What I did was something that shouldn't have been done. Humans aren't allowed to manipulate life-force for their own purposes."

"What are you talking about Tyro?"

"I'm sure you have heard about the Magi right? And the war that was fought against them five hundred years prior?"

Not wanting to expose his ignorance, the youth lied, "Yeah, I have. What about it?"

"Well, then I am sure you know that they were bestowed the gift of the Legnas. They had the ability to draw energy from life-forces of the dead and turn the energy into weapons of mass destruction. Humans did not and still do not have that. But, I was able to bend the rules last night because a former Magi taught me a trick to do it. All I had to do was use my blood to draw a circle of life, and inscribe within the circle the holy trinity of the Goddess, the Legnas, and Nirvankind," The leader of the Heartrock said in an almost remorseful tone for what he had done.

"I don't understand. You use the dead to kill the angels?"

"Yes. I used to the souls of the departed to kill the dead that still walks."

The teen shook his head in confusion as his mind began to unravel the words he was hearing. 'I don't understand,' he thought to himself. 'Did he just say to kill the dead? Does that mean that angels are things that have died? What world is this, where am I? Am I supposed to know all of this? My memory, what has happened to memory?'

Tyro sighed and said, "Yet, because I was not born with the gift of the Magi, I had to sacrifice a part of my life in order to use another's. The one who taught me warned me against using it more than two times."

"Why? What happens if you use it a third time?" Abel inquired as he could see the battle that was being fought within the man that was trusted by all on the ship.

"Every time I use it, I lose a part of my memory. I cannot control what recollection is lost. Nevertheless, last night was the second time I used it. And with each usage, the value of the memories that are lost increases. I do not know what I had to give up, but I guess I will find out soon. And," the Captain hesitated in his explanation, "if I use it the third time, I will lose all memories of everything and everyone. It'll be like having amnesia. Knowing that you know nothing and feeling lost although you've known the way before."

When the Earthling heard the words that were escaping from the commander's lips, his nerves tightened and a cold chill ran down his lower back. 'Was that what happened to me?' he asked himself. 'Could that be the reason I cannot remember everything? Did I use the circle three times against an angel, and in the process lose all memory?'

"Anyway," Tyro spoke in an uplifting tone, "what's done is done. It can't be help. If I have to do it again to save the lives of my men and yours, I wouldn't hesitate. Memories can be regained. Lives cannot. Yet, a part of me still shakes in pain at the knowledge that the life-force I used will never reach the seventh kingdom, but instead disappear forever."

Abel could only give a weak smile as his mouth continued chewing on the _amaderi_.

"The skyline of the capital city of Angelus should be appearing in about twenty minutes or so. I'll have to go and inspect the engines. You can stay out here as long as you like." The commander patted the youngster's back and began to walk toward the stair that led to the lower level when a shout came from the parrot's nest.

"Captain! I see smokes in the distant."

Both warriors ran to the forefront of the vessel and indeed saw plumes of black smoke rising out from an open area ahead of them.

"Can you identify what it is?" Tyro shouted back to the Heartrock that was stationed at the highest reach of the center mast.

"It's Ipsen! Ipsen's burning!"

Upon hearing the name, the leader of the Heartrock immediately dashed to the aft, up the stairway and into the control room where Ark was waiting for him.

"All engines full speed! Set the course for Ipsen Village! Ark, round up the men and arm them! I fear for the worse," The commandant ordered as he quickly took control of ship.

Still standing at the fore, Abel could feel the increase of heavy vibrations. The loud gnawing of the engines vibrated into the distant, sending birds from trees below flying in the opposite direction. The wind was quickly racing past his hair and he had to shield his eyes in order to stop the moving air from cutting across them. He instinctively reached for Nextar. Looking back, he could see the others heading toward the lower level. Not wanting to be left out, he soon gave pursuit.

The Ragnarok raced through the atmosphere, piercing across aimless clouds that stood in its way. After a few minutes of travel, it had arrived at the landing for skyships. Twin anchors were shot out from both side and quickly took hold of the patches of dirt. And then, the arms on the side began to curl back into the vessel. It landed with a loud explosion of dirt. The propellers stopped spinning. The side door swung open and crashed violently onto the blood filled ground. Archers took position at the highest reach as fighters armed with swords, shields, spears, and all slowly walked out.

"Everyone, be on high alert! The enemy, if there is one, could still be around. Our main priority is to save any survivors. Got it?" Tyro shouted as they ran off the ramp and toward the village's gate. The rest replied instantly and began moving in coordinated groups. The Captain began to follow the rest when he turned around to see Abel walking next to the Trilian.

"Abel! What are you doing? Get back into the ship! This is way more dangerous than last night was!" The commander shouted as he tried to shove the youngster.

"But what if you face a homunculus again? Only Nexstar can injure them, remember? And I want to go. You know as well as I do that I'm a far more capable fighter than I appear to be. Don't worry," the Earthling reasoned with a reassuring nod, "I have Triger here with me. If an order is given to retreat, I'll be able to do it faster than you guys will."

"Alright, fine. But stick with me. Something's wrong. I can feel it."

And so, they began to walk toward the burning village. The woodland was rustling with activities that couldn't be seen. Eyes were watching from within the darkness that couldn't be recognized. When the two had arrived, the large group of Heartrock was standing around. They pushed their way through, and their heart sank at the sight that greeted them.

There was nothing left of the once proud community. The straw huts had been burn to the ground. Blood were spill forth everywhere. Rubbles and overthrown items were littered on the ground.

"Alright everyone," Tyro spoke out loud as he took charge of the situation, "search through the debris and wreckages. There could still be survivors." When everyone had dispersed, he pulled his Eldar and Elden aside, "Make sure the men are ready for anything." The twins performed the Heartrock signature and ran off. "Abel, l…" The youth was nowhere to be seen.

Abel slowly traversed his way through the fallen home and burning embers. His stomach began to rumble with sickness as he saw the painting of bright blood everywhere. Black timbers that once were the foundation of glorious homes were now nothing more than charred lumber. Following next to him was Triger, its ears scanning the environment for any undesirable noises. He abruptly jumped when he heard a shout coming from behind.

"Hey! Don't run off like that! How many times must I warn you!?" The Captain said as he ran up to the youngster.

"What happened here? And where is everyone? If they were attack, there would be bodies right? But, I don't see anything. All that is here is blood and restless fire!"

Suddenly, the sun struck something that laid beneath the burnt wood. Both warriors saw it. The green and blue eyed human slowly knelt and began moving away the down kindling. When he had reached his goal, he violently screamed and jumped back, puking on his way down to the ground. The Captain drew forth all of his strength in order to not follow suit. The feeling was there, but years of experience had allowed him to endure the sight that he saw. And yet, his hands began to shake as a familiar sickness began to take over him. The Trilian only stood its ground. It slowly knelt and rose, as if showing its sign of respect.

The other Heartrocks ran over when they heard the scream. What they saw sent some of them to the ground while throwing up all they had eaten in the early morning. The rest recoiled in disgust and anger as they clenched hard onto their weapons. Blood was still dripping from the neck of the discovered whilst the sun reflected the brown eyes.

"Eldar, dig a hole and give it a right burial." Tyro said as he helped the others up.

The Heartrock hesitated at first, but his twin brother agreed to help him. They both reach down and grabbed the object. It was the head of a newborn, ripped from the neck and body that was nowhere to be seen. The eyes were still opened. It was lying in a pool of red water. The infant's pink tongue was still stinking out. Its neck was still dripping the same ruby liquid.

It took a while for everyone to regain their composure. After helping the rest stand up, Tyro began to speak when he heard shouts coming from the distant. They all turned to see Eldar and Eldan running at them with weapons drawn. "Angels! Renait!" they shouted.

Trailing behind the two airmen were monsters that ran on two black slender legs. Their brown upper body had scars all over, and their long reaching arms were carrying steel weapons that danced in the sunlight. These angels, called Renait, had elongated black tails. Their fingers were rough and battered, and extended twin fangs cuddled their mouth. Yet, those were not their most fearsome traits. Instead, it was their eyes. They had red, burning eyes that revealed their intense desire for the blood and life of the living.

The fury was in the commander's eyes as well. "Heartrocks! Draw your weapons! Attack!" he shouted as he rushed past his men and collided with the oncoming angels. The others soon followed their leader's resolve and drew steel to match steel. The Trilian instinctively jumped in front of its rider as it bared its own two fangs. When Abel saw the others fighting as if they were fighting for the dead infant, he began feeling his muscles moving tightening. He instantly reached for his saber, told his beast to fight, and charged at the one of the angels that was unfortunate enough to come into his path. When the monster tried to stab him with its blade, he reactively dodged to the side and sliced off its head. The body evaporated into black ashes, and from the remains the same ball of fire floated out, and into the air.

As fast as the battle had begun, it had ended. The airmen collapsed onto the ground from the tiredness. Their breathing was that of a woman giving birth. After finishing off a Renait by driving his sword into its abdomen, Tyro looked up and scanned the battlefield. There was nothing left of the enemy, except for the floating orb that shone ominously in the sunlight. These life-forces traveled through the living bodies as if it wasn't there. And then, these spheres that contained the souls of the dead began rising into the heaven and disappeared amidst the cerulean sky.

"Is anyone injure?" he shouted as he began helping his men up.

"Captain! Over here!" Replied a voice.

Everyone ran over to the location of the shout. When they arrived, they could see a body kneeling and a body lying on the ground. The Captain pushed his way through the crowd and what he saw sank his heart.

With a wound on his stomach, Eldar was grasping onto his brother's hand.

"Someone get back to the Ragnarok and tell them to send the surgeon here now!" The commandeered shouted his order as he sat next to the down airmen.

"How does it look Captain?" The fighter asked as blood continued to protrude from the opening.

"It's fine Eldar. You'll be okay! Hang in there!"

Coughing up blood, the warrior only gave a weak smile and turned to his twin self. "Elden, I believe you are going to win our bet now. My muscles are tired. I can see the light in front of me."

"Shut up!" Elden screamed as he pushed down on the bleeding injury, "Not yet…not yet! Do you here me? Not yet. Not here! Not now! You're not going die yet. I won't let you. This is too early."

Covered in dirt, Abel slipped his way through the crowd and saw the result of the battle. Triger stood beside him. They could only stand and watch. His eyes then noticed that Tyro had cut his finger and was beginning to draw a familiar symbol on the ground. Screaming out loud, he ran forward and jumped at the leader before he was able to perform the spell. Just then, the surgeons rushed through and began to work on the fallen Heartrock.

"Captain!" the lead medic exclaimed, "His wound is deep, but if we can get him to a hospital, he might make it. Our equipment is not enough to perform an open-field surgery. There's too much risk of infections. We have to get him to Angelus now!"

The leader grabbed the youth's hand and gave a smile, as if he understood. When the teen backed away, he stood up and took command. "You heard the man. Everyone, back to the Ragnarok now! From the look of these angels, there won't be any survivors. There's nothing we can do now. But if we hurry, we'll be able to save one of our own!"

It was all that was needed. Every Heartrock quickly dashed back to the skyship as the surgeons carried the fallen comrade on a stretcher. When he was the last to board the vessel, the commander turned back to the still burning village, took his hand and crossed his head. He then put his palm over his heart and respectfully lowered his head before closing the ramp.

The airship immediately rose over the giant trees and pierce through the clouds at amazing speed. Down on the second level, the surgeons tried their best to keep Eldar alive. His twin never left his side. At the topmost of the ship, Tyro stood inside the control room, quietly whispering to Ark.

"What do you think happened Captain?" The big man murmured as he stood with arms crossed.

"There's no doubt about it. Ipsen was attacked by the Renaits in the early morning. In the midst of the confusion and chaos, the villagers knocked over the torches and fire, burning their entire town in the process. But from the look of the surrounding areas, it appeared as though the squad that was supposed to be station in the village was not there. I did see signs of battle struggle between humans and angels previous to our arrival."

"Does that mean the battalion had withdrawn back to Angelus?"

"It seems that way," the leader of the airmen said as his eyes stared intently at an object at the front of the ship. "The Renaits that ambushed us was probably the same that attacked previously. They are one of the few angels that eat human flesh. The remains of the infant proved that."

"What are our courses of action?" Ark asked in a quiet tone.

"We're going to go Angelus to find out what happened. Someone is responsible for this. And I'm going to inquire as to who ordered the withdrawal of the troops. I can only pray that there are survivors that were able to escape back to the capital."

"Something else is bothering you. I can see it in your eyes," the Heartrock commented as he looked at his leader.

"It's our passenger. His fighting skill is beyond believable. And last night, when he dispatched the homunculi, his eyes were a brilliant gold color!"

"Gold!?" the airmen quickly inquired as he too turn to look at the youth that was standing at the fore.

"Yes. There's more to him than meets the eyes. But that is something that must wait. We have to take a step at a time. Hopefully, we'll make it in time to Angelus to save Eldar."

Abel stood silently by himself, his arms resting on the railing. He had adjusted to the motion of the vessel and stopped feeling sick. So much death his young eyes had seen. The pallid face of Dalion. The aimless stare of the newborn. Suddenly, he realized that he was still chewing the candy that Tyro gave to him earlier. His brown hair flew freely in the open air. Below, the forestland was gone and in its place was a long stretching field of yellow grass.

"It's called the _Ameli Dimos_. I believe translated into common tongue it means the plain of salvation," the Captain said as he interrupted the youth's daydream.

"Is that so? It looks pretty."

Laughing, the Nirvan grabbed the Earthling's head and rotated it to the distant horizon, "Well, if you think that's pretty, then try looking at that."

His green and blue eyed quickly enlarged in wonder. Off in the distant, with uncountable skyships flying over the golden walls and a great white castle built on the edge of a waterfall was the city of Angelus, shining in the golden sunlight.

i © 2001-2005 Hoa (Tony) Pham (that's me). Tide of Fate/FF: Destiny of Fate project. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without my written consent In short, enjoy reading. But don't steal. Stealing is bad.


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